A child has died of measles in West Texas, the first known death in an outbreak that is spreading in the region and in neighboring New Mexico, state health officials said on Wednesday.
The patient was an unvaccinated school-age child, according to officials in Lubbock, Texas, and the Department of State Health Services.
The outbreak comes amid growing concerns among public health experts about declining vaccination rates and the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent vaccine skeptic, as the nation’s health secretary.
At a meeting of cabinet officials at the White House on Wednesday, Mr. Kennedy downplayed the news, saying that federal health officials were “watching” the outbreak and noting that there had been others this year.
“So it’s not unusual,” he said. He did not mention vaccination or describe steps the federal government might be taking to help stop the outbreak.
(Mr. Kennedy also asserted that there had been two deaths in Texas, although the authorities said there was just one.)
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