2 Lubbock-area kids have measles. Which Fort Worth schools are protected from the virus?
Two children in Gaines County were hospitalized with measles, the state health department said Jan. 30.
Both school-age children were unvaccinated, and have since been discharged, according to a press release from the state health department.
These confirmed measles cases are the most recent since two cases were reported in unvaccinated residents of Harris County earlier in January. These four measles cases are the first to be identified in the state since 2023.
Measles is one of the most infectious respiratory viruses, and can easily spread from person to person, especially among those who are unvaccinated. The Department of State Health Services recommends getting two doses of the MMR vaccine, a measles-containing vaccine, as the best protection against serious illness.
Last year, the Star-Telegram reported that fewer Fort Worth-area schoolchildren have received the MMR vaccine, leaving more children and more schools vulnerable to an outbreak of the virus. For one in every three Fort Worth area campuses, measles vaccination rates have dipped so low that there would almost certainly be an outbreak of the disease if a child came to school while infected, according to the Star-Telegram’s analysis.
In the Fort Worth school district, Tarrant County’s largest, the number of students who were up-to-date on the mealses-mumps-rubella vaccine dropped from 95% of kindergartners in the 2019-20 school year to 84% in the 2023-24 school year. But the rate of children up-to-date varies widely by campus. At one school, less than half of all kindergartners were fully vaccinated. At some campuses, all student were vaccinated.
According to the state health department, people who are infected with measles will begin to have symptoms within a week or two after being exposed. People are contagious for about four days before the classic measles rash appears until about four days after the rash appears. People who think they might have measles should stay home and call their doctor or local health department to learn how to get tested.
The MMR vaccine greatly reduces your change of getting sick with measles, although there is a small chance you could still get infected after vaccination. Getting the vaccine helps reduce your risk of serious illness if you do get sick, according to the state health department.
