Texas healthcare workers aren’t just fighting measles—they’re fighting Facebook memes, Fox News clips, and a federal health secretary who thinks cod liver oil is a substitute for a vaccine.
The outbreak, which has already killed a Lubbock child and spread into New Mexico, is now the biggest measles surge the U.S. has seen in 25 years. Doctors say the real epidemic is the “spores of ignorance” spread online, where conspiracy theories about vaccines causing infertility, DNA changes, or microchip implants have taken root.
Adding fuel to the fire, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. keeps downplaying the outbreak and pushing vitamin A instead of shots, even as pharmacies across Texas can’t keep up with the sudden rush of parents finally demanding the MMR vaccine. Meanwhile, anti-vaccine bills in the Texas legislature keep piling up, making it easier for parents to skip immunizations.
Veterans of public health say this is “information warfare” they were never trained for—trying to persuade scared parents while fighting a flood of slick misinformation campaigns disguised to look like CDC materials.
Measles may be one of the most contagious viruses on earth, but in Texas 2025, the real super-spreader is bad information.
