measles

The case involves a student at Willow Springs Middle School in Lucas. It's not connected to a possible Plano measles exposure reported last week, health officials said.

Collin County health care services confirmed a measles case in Plano involving a contagious person who visited several malls.

The Rockwall County Commissioners Court said on social media the person, who has since recovered, may have traveled to West Texas recently.

The measles outbreak in West Texas didn’t happen just by chance. Health officials say the easily preventable disease has ripped through communities sprawling across more than 20 Texas counties in part because health departments were starved of the funding needed to run vaccine programs.

Health experts say driving up vaccination rates in affected areas is the most effective defense against this disease

About 500 Texans, mostly young unvaccinated children, have contracted the disease. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visited the West Texas town that has been the epicenter of the outbreak.

Since Tuesday, Texas saw at least 59 new cases.

Cuts to federal funding cuts forced the Dallas Department of Health and Human Services to lay off 11 staff and 10 temporary workers. Many of the terminated employees worked in immunization outreach.

Public health departments relied on COVID funding to expand testing, lab and vaccination capabilities. Local health leaders say the federal government's clawback of $11.4 billion will undermine that growth.

Medical disinformation connected to the West Texas measles outbreak has created a new problem. Children are being treated for toxic levels of vitamin A.

North Texans and public health officials said there's still a lot of work to do to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Public health experts say Texas needs better messaging on vaccinations and quarantining and more people conducting contact tracing to contain the spread.