Tracker here: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/04/22/texas-measles-outbreak-update/
By late April, Texas logged 663 measles cases across 26 counties—making this the biggest outbreak the state has seen since 1992. Nearly 60% of those cases came straight out of Gaines County, where vaccination rates are low enough to make the virus feel right at home. Two unvaccinated children have already died, and 87 patients have landed in hospitals. But sure, let’s keep debating whether vaccines are “worth it.”
State health officials are now updating the public twice a week while burning through $4.5 million on response efforts—money that could’ve bought an awful lot of MMR shots up front. Meanwhile, Austin is bragging about its first measles case in 24 years. Yay milestones! Elsewhere, El Paso and Travis counties have joined the party too, proving this isn’t just a West Texas problem anymore.
Experts point out what should be obvious by now: measles is one of the most contagious viruses out there, vaccines work, and herd immunity only functions if the herd actually shows up. Instead, we’ve got communities like Gaines County’s Loop ISD, where nearly half the kindergartners aren’t vaccinated. That’s not “personal choice”—that’s rolling out the welcome mat for an entirely preventable disease.
Texas is now spending millions to chase down a virus we already knew how to stop 50 years ago. But hey, who needs progress when you can have “freedom,” right?
