Here’s the math, Lubbock-style: a single measles vaccine costs about $2.60. A single measles hospitalization? More than $10,000. Add in the cost of tracking down every coughing, rashy contact across half the state and suddenly Texas taxpayers are staring down a bill in the millions. All because some folks think Dr. Facebook knows more than decades of immunology.
Public health experts like Dr. Alan Melnick and Dr. Maria Sundaram point out that measles outbreaks are 100% preventable, but only if you actually vaccinate people. Washington state spent $3 million containing 71 cases in 2019. Texas already has more than 700 cases, dozens of hospitalizations, and two dead kids. Do the math—this is going to be the most expensive “freedom” movement since Ted Cruz booked those Cancun flights.
Meanwhile, Texas spends a whopping $17 per person on public health—near dead last in the country. For comparison, New Mexico spends $235 per person and has managed to keep its outbreak to 58 cases. But hey, why invest in prevention when you can wait for a disaster and then pour millions into chasing it down with duct tape and prayer?
A $2.60 shot or a $10,000 hospital stay—Texas chose the hospital bill. Fiscal conservatism, y’all.
https://www.tpr.org/public-health/2025-04-14/the-cost-of-the-measles-outbreak-in-texas
