Worried about the ongoing Measles outbreak in Texas? Be an advocate!
Here are some talking points to help you:
- As of February 28, 2025, there are almost 150 cases of measles confirmed in Texas, and nine more in neighboring counties in New Mexico. One unvaccianted child has died. This is the first death due to measles in the United States in 10 years.
- Measles was declared eliminated from the United States in 2000. This means that measles will only spread if started by someone with the virus entering the country and spreading it to un- or under-vaccinated individuals.
- Measles is the most contagioius vaccine-preventable disease. One person can spread measles to 16-18 unvaccinated individuals. In order for measles not to spread, a community (herd) immunity level of at least 95% must be maintained.
- Overall measles coverage in the US was 90.6% in 2021. In Delaware, that number was 89.4% for the same year. These numbers do not account for areas of lower vaccination coverage, like the Mennonite community at the center of the Gaines County, Texas outbreak.
- Due to COVID-19, vaccination rates of children dropped, and now up to 13.9% of children nation-wide are susceptible to measles.