In Texas, more than just tumbleweeds roll through the west. After 25 years of eradication due to a highly effective vaccine, measles is back and currently ravaging Texas’s South Plains and Panhandle regions.
According to the Texas Department of Health Services, 223 cases have been identified in the South Plains since January, and at least 80 of these people were not vaccinated (138 people have an unknown vaccination status). A total of 29 people have been hospitalized, and one unvaccinated child passed away.
As a Texan, it’s deeply upsetting to think about members of my community being sick, and it’s even more upsetting that members of my community are putting others at risk by remaining unvaccinated. People need to properly educate themselves on the purpose and benefits of vaccines instead of spreading misinformation and, even worse, disease.
The measles, a virus-induced infection also known as rubeola, begins as a red rash that starts at the head and spreads down to the feet. The infection is most common in children and it can cause fevers, sore throat and other severe complications such as immune system suppression.
Measles is incredibly contagious, even more so than COVID-19. The Cleveland Clinic states that if a single person in a room full of unvaccinated people has measles, 90% of people in the room will also contract the disease. In 2023, the World Health Organization estimated that measles caused approximately 107,500 deaths worldwide, primarily among unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children younger than five.
Harvard Medical School argues that when 95% of community members are vaccinated, the individual and other community members are protected from measles through herd immunity. Unfortunately, the vaccination rate in about half of Texas counties for kindergarten-aged children has fallen below that threshold. The national percentage of school-aged children vaccinated for measles is also dropping below 95%.
Many parents refuse to vaccinate their children because they are worried about a perceived connection between the measles, mumps and rubeola (MMR) vaccine and autism. Other parental hesitations about the MMR vaccine, including unknown side effects, lack of concern about the illness and lack of knowledge, overlap with uncertainties about other childhood vaccines. These points were the main reasons people cited for refusing the COVID-19, flu and RSV vaccinations, respectively.
However, a study by the National Library of Medicine found no relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism or any other immunization. This “rumor” began in 1998 when former physician Andrew Wakefield published a study claiming that the MMR vaccine led to child developmental issues. This fraudulent study was retracted in 2010.
There has been a tremendous amount of misinformation surrounding vaccines. People theorize that mRNA vaccines alter the recipient’s DNA, causing anxiety about the COVID-19 vaccine. In reality, mRNA vaccines work by telling our cells how to make a protein that causes our immune system to produce antibodies, protecting us from that germ in the future. After the protein is made, our bodies break down the inserted mRNA.
Another completely unsupported theory is that the COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines contain tracking chips. For starters, the necessary size of a microchip would not fit through a vaccination needle and into the skin. Additionally, the chip would need a power source that would have to send a signal through muscle and fat. Of American adults surveyed in July, 5% are confident in this theory while another 15% find it to be “probably true.”
None of these theories about immunizations have been proven true, but what has been proven is that remaining unvaccinated puts you and others at higher risk of contracting an easily preventable disease. West Texas is an unfortunate example. Unvaccinated people are undoing the decades of research and hard work leading up to 25 years of measles eradication while fellow Texans fight for their lives in the hospital.
As an individual, you should want to protect yourself. As a parent, you should want to prevent your child from getting sick or experiencing an emotionally draining hospital stay. As a community member, you should share a sense of collective responsibility and work towards herd immunity to better protect yourself, your children and those in your circle. Keeping those you care about safe should be your top priority and getting vaccinated is the first step.