Description
Measles has sickened nearly 150 mostly unvaccinated people in rural West Texas, and a school-age child has died. The virus is spreading among Gaines County’s Mennonite community, where government mandates are not trusted. But another outbreak is also spreading, and that's mistrust in vaccines and public health. Most parents have chosen to vaccinate, but doctors worry anti-vaccine rhetoric from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s top health official, will make things worse as childhood vaccination rates decline. Gaines County has an 82% kindergarten vaccination rate against measles, below the 95% needed to stop outbreaks. The rate may be even lower among homeschooled children.