Texas reports 2nd measles death in an unvaccinated child

Texas state health officials reported today of a second measles death in a resident in the ongoing outbreak centered in the state's South Plains region.

The case is a unvaccinated eight-year-old girl who passed away on Thursday in Lubbock.

Image/CDC

The child’s doctor describes the case as measles pulmonary failure.

This is the second measles death reported in Texas, when another unvaccinated child died in February.

A third fatality, an adult in New Mexico, died in March.

So far in 2025, there has been well more than 600 measles cases reported in the US to date, more than 2024s total tally.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reports measles is a highly contagious respiratory illness, which can cause life-threatening illness to anyone who is not protected against the virus. During a measles outbreak, about one in five children who get sick will need hospital care and one in 20 will develop pneumonia. Rarely, measles can lead to swelling of the brain and death. It can also cause pregnancy complications, such as premature birth and babies with low birth weight.

The best way to prevent getting sick is to be immunized with two doses of a measles-containing vaccine, which is primarily administered as the combination measles-mumps-rubella or MMR vaccine. Two doses of the MMR vaccine prevent more than 97 percent of measles infections.