First death in West Texas measles outbreak is unvaccinated child

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LUBBOCK — A school-aged child has died in Lubbock from measles, the first death reported in an ongoing outbreak that has infected more than 120 people in West Texas since January, Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed on Wednesday.

According to state officials, the child, who was unvaccinated, was hospitalized in Lubbock last week. State and local officials would not say whether the child lived in Lubbock or where the child was infected with the measles. The Associated Press first reported the death on Wednesday.

The Texas Department of State Health Services has not confirmed when the last measles-related death in Texas was prior to 2025.

What we know about the West Texas outbreak

This measles outbreak is the largest in the state in 30 years. The first cases were reported in late January in Gaines County. Since then, the outbreak has spread to nine other counties in West Texas and the Panhandle. As of Tuesday, the state health department has reported 124 confirmed cases of measles associated with the West Texas outbreak, the vast majority of them in Gaines County where a large unvaccinated Mennonite community resides.

Unrelated to the West Texas outbreak, one case reported Wednesday comes from the Dallas area in Rockwall County. State health officials say that case involved an adult who had recently traveled outside the United States and is not considered part of a Texas outbreak. Houston also reported two separate cases in January, bringing the statewide total so far this year to at least 127, as of Wednesday, according to state health officials.

The state agency is working with local health departments to investigate cases and provide immunizations where needed.

The majority of these most recent cases are people who were not vaccinated against measles. According to state health officials, 18 of the patients with measles have been hospitalized as of Tuesday.

Officials also issued a public health alert Monday, after someone with the measles traveled to San Marcos, New Braunfels and San Antonio before knowing they were infected. The state health department outlined several locations the infected person went from Feb. 14 through Feb. 16.

State and local measles response

Measles is a highly contagious virus that spreads through respiratory droplets passed through the air by breathing, coughing or sneezing. The virus can live in the air for up to two hours, and symptoms can begin anywhere from seven to 21 days after an exposure. According to the state health department, children under the age of 5, especially those under the age of 12 months, pregnant women, older adults and people with weakened immune systems are at highest risk.

Lubbock health leaders said they are taking the outbreak seriously. Local hospital system Covenant Health has a pre-screening area in front of the children's emergency room to check patients for symptoms before they enter its facility. The Lubbock Health Department hosted vaccine clinics several times this week. It is open to people who have not received the two recommended doses of the measles-mumps-rubella-varicella, or MMRV vaccine. Katherine Wells, director for the city health department, said there is a potential for the virus to spread more as spring break approaches.

“The more cases we see, the more potential there is for spread,” Wells said. “People who are exposed and have been told they are exposed by public health need to stay home.”

Wells said if people get vaccinated this week, it would be fully effective in two weeks. During the vaccine clinics over the weekend, Wells said they gave between 100 to 150 additional MMRV vaccines than they normally would.

A spokesman for Gov. Greg. Abbott said the governor’s office is in regular communication with the Texas Department of State Health Services regarding the outbreak.

“DSHS has deployed epidemiologists, immunization teams and specimen collection teams to affected areas,” said Andrew Mahaleris, Abbott’s spokesman. “The state will deploy all necessary resources to ensure the safety and health of Texans.”

During a cabinet meeting in Washington, D.C., Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy said his agency is also monitoring the Texas outbreak. Although he said there were two deaths in Texas, state officials have only confirmed one death.

“We are following the measles epidemic everyday,” he said. “We’re going to continue to follow it.”

He also cited four measles outbreaks in the country so far this year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website reports three, as of Friday) and 16 outbreaks last year, adding "so it's not unusual."

"We have measles outbreaks every year," he said.

Kennedy also said many of the people hospitalized are for quarantine purposes. Lara Johnson, chief medical officer of Covenant Health, said that is not the case for patients in Lubbock.

"We don't hospitalize patients for quarantine purposes," Johnson said. "We admit patients who need acute, supportive treatment in our hospital."

Nearby county on alert

About an hour south of Gaines County, Ector County Judge Dustin Fawcett said he and his wife are concerned about measles because they have an 8-month-old son who is below the recommended age to receive the MMRV vaccine. Two cases of measles have been reported in Ector County, according to the state. One case was an infant under a year old who was hospitalized.

“It’s the young children I’m most concerned about,” Fawcett said. “I’m concerned about our daycares and our elementary schools.”

If Ector County identifies three measles cases from separate households, the state health department could allow the county to deliver vaccines to individuals younger than a year old, Fawcett said.

Following the news that one Texan had died of measles, Fawcett urged his constituents to stay informed and not to panic.

“This is not code red. We don’t need people running out getting tested,” Fawcett said. “If people have concerns, call a doctor.”

Measles is highly contagious, so Fawcett said parents should not rush the doctor’s office if their child experiences symptoms.

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