Amid the ongoing measles outbreak in Texas, along with several cases in other states, doctors are emphasizing the importance of community protection.
Measles is “wildly contagious among unvaccinated individuals,” Fox News Senior Medical Analyst Dr. Marc Siegel previously told Fox News Digital.
Ahead of a Tuesday interview with HHS Secretary RFK Jr., Siegel said he is concerned about the issue of “community protection versus risk benefit.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is sworn in as Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Oval Office at the White House on Feb. 13, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“That may include how many vaccines are being offered, who’s offering them and how many people are getting them,” he went on.
“I want to understand the work on the ground in terms of contact tracing isolation, intervention and prevention.”
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Siegel previously suggested that high exemption rates for childhood vaccines, which are now under 85% compliance, are to blame.
The majority of cases in the current outbreak have occurred in unvaccinated individuals, mostly school-aged children.
The majority of cases in the current outbreak have occurred in unvaccinated individuals, mostly school-aged children. (iStock)
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“Keep in mind that for herd immunity (where those who cannot be vaccinated because they are pregnant or immunocompromised and can’t take a live vaccine are protected), we need a vaccination rate of around 95%,” he told Fox News Digital.
“In Texas, it is currently at 91%, and more bills for further exemptions are before the state legislature.”
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A total of 164 measles cases had been reported across Alaska, California, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, Rhode Island and Texas as of Feb. 27, 2025, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
There have been a total of three outbreaks, which are defined as three or more related cases, so far this year.
