Second child dies of measles as officials warn of low vaccination rates

WASHINGTON (7News) — A second school-aged child died of measles on Thursday.

The Texas Department of State Health Services announced Sunday that the child, hospitalized in Lubbock, was not vaccinated and had no underlying conditions.

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of April 3, 2025, 607 confirmed measles cases were reported in 22 states, including Maryland. Out of those cases, 97% were unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination status. Most hospitalized cases are in children under five years old.

On February 26, the Texas Department of State Health Services reported its first death of a school-aged child who was not vaccinated.

On March 6, the New Mexico Department of Health confirmed that one person who died was unvaccinated and tested positive for measles. The official cause of death is still under investigation.

On April 6, the Texas Department of State Health Services announced that the second child had died of measles pulmonary failure.

Health experts say, in order to keep the country's herd immunity, 95% of the community needs to be vaccinated. The rates are waning and according to the National Center for Health Statistics, 90.8% of children received at least one dose of the MMR vaccine by 24 months old.

“Most parents are vaccinating their children. Overwhelmingly majority, over 90 percent are vaccinating their children against measles. In this day and age, it’s hard to find over 90 percent of people agreeing on anything. So, sometimes we forget to talk about that when we are appropriately highlighting the challenges," said Dr. David Higgins of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, in a SciLine forum.

If you have a young child, it is recommended that children 12 to 15 months get the first dose of the MMR vaccine and the second shot between 4 and 6 years old.