“9 states report measles cases as outbreaks grow”
by Alix Martichoux
“While the focus in recent weeks has been on Texas, eight other states have confirmed cases of the virus, the CDC reports. Nine cases have been confirmed in New Mexico’s Lea County, and at least one case has been confirmed in Alaska, California, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island.”
““On average, one infected person may infect about 15 other people,” said Scott Weaver, a center of excellence director for the Global Virus Network, an international coalition. “There’s only a few viruses that even come close to that.””
““Any of these outbreaks we’re seeing can easily be prevented by increasing the rate of vaccination in the community,” he said. “If we can maintain 95% of people vaccinated, we’re not going to see this happening in the future. And we’ve slipped well below that level in many parts of the country.”
Vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the COVID-19 pandemic, and most states are below the 95% vaccination threshold for kindergartners — the level needed to protect communities against measles outbreaks.”
to read the full article go to
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5173803-9-states-report-measles-cases-as-outbreaks-grow/
“Instead of vaccines, RFK Jr. focuses on unconventional measles treatments, driving worries about misinformation”
By Neha Mukherjee
“Vitamin A supplementation can be lifesaving for measles cases when vitamin A deficiency is present,” he said. In these cases, it strengthens the immune system in providing a response against the virus.
But in the American context, the data for vitamin A use in measles is “weak,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.
Vitamin A “really doesn’t have much of a role in the current discussion on the West Texas measles epidemic because it becomes a distraction about what we really need to focus on, which is vaccinating our kids,” he said.
Beyond the updated CDC guidelines on vitamin A, there’s no set treatment regimen for measles because cases in the US have been generally rare. One of the medications that Kennedy mentioned, the antibiotic clarithromycin, could be an attempt to prevent secondary bacterial infections like pneumonia, but evidence for that is limited. Budesonide is a steroid with a variety of uses, but it’s not clear how it might help someone with measles.
““It’s really important not to conflate what … [is] supportive or adjunctive care for measles versus curative treatment for measles,” said Dr. Christina Johns, a pediatric emergency physician at PM Pediatrics in Annapolis, Maryland. “There is no treatment for measles.””
to read the full article go to
https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/05/health/measles-rfk-vitamin-a-misinformation/index.html
“West Texans, Mennonites at center of measles outbreak choose medical freedom over vaccine mandates”
By DEVI SHASTRI and CARLOS NOGUERAS RAMOS
“A little girl in this mostly Mennonite congregation was among those who’d fallen ill with the highly contagious respiratory disease, senior pastor David Klassen said — but she’s doing fine, and she happily played through her quarantine. He heard that at least two Mennonite schools shut down for a bit to disinfect.
What he hasn’t heard: Any direct outreach from public health officials on what to do as the number of those sickened with measles has grown to 159 and a school-age child has died. And though Klassen is a trusted church and community leader, his congregants haven’t asked about whether they should vaccinate their kids — and he wouldn’t want to weigh in.””
“With this measles situation, I can honestly just tell you we haven’t taken any steps as a church,” he said. “We did leave it up to the mothers.””
““Do I trust all the vaccines? No,” Klassen said. “And I get from (Kennedy) that he doesn’t trust all the vaccines, either. And he is very well educated in that; I’m not.””
to read the full article go to
https://apnews.com/article/measles-outbreak-texas-rfk-vaccines-8cf4641b04731c713edb524ca943490c
“Students, parents on high alert after 1st confirmed measles case pops up at Miami Palmetto Senior High School”
https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/measles-case-miami-dade-parents-reaction/