Samantha Larned
Appearances
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
And Terry County, outside of Lubbock, where most of these cases are being reported, he expects cases to continue rising.
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
A majority of the cases are among school-age children, and the state health department says most of the measles patients are either unvaccinated or have an unknown vaccine status. Measles can be dangerous, even deadly, especially for babies and children.
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
Public health officials have described communities in Gaines County as vaccine hesitant. The vaccination rate there is just under 82 percent as compared to the state of Texas, which has a vaccination rate of 90 percent. Catherine Wells is the director of public health here in Lubbock, where there is that one case.
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
And she says the process of confirming measles cases is a lot quicker in a city than in those remote rural areas like Seminole, which is an hour and a half away from here. where a majority of those cases have occurred.
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
Well, like Texas in the past month, there's been cases in Georgia, Rhode Island, New York City and Alaska. And this is all coming as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is getting started leading the Health and Human Services Department. Kennedy was critical of the measles vaccine for years before he was nominated.
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
Health officials say the vaccine is 97 percent effective at preventing measles even after exposure. Some of the people who are at risk are those with compromised immune systems, like pregnant people and babies under one year old who can't receive the vaccine. Dr. Ron Cook is the health authority for the city of Lubbock, and he says the vaccine is safe.
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
There haven't been any deaths so far with this outbreak, but providers are concerned about continued spread from those who might not know that they have measles. And MMR vaccines are available across the state.
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
There is a lot of anxiety around this. In the past week, measles cases have more than doubled. We now have 58 confirmed cases here in Lubbock. It's just one, but it's the first one the city has seen in more than 20 years. Zach Holbrooks is the executive director of South Plains Public Health District, which serves Gaines County.