HOUSTON, TEXAS — Harris County officials outlined a plan to boost vaccination rates for measles and trace any potential cases in Houston — as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the federal government plans to combat the outbreak by shipping doses of vitamin A to Gaines County.
County officials announced on Tuesday they are testing for measles by monitoring 36 wastewater treatment facilities and 48 manholes. They also plan to start monitoring schools with low vaccination rates, nursing homes and more. Health officials also noted additional vaccination efforts and encouraged residents to get vaccinated if they have not already.
“It is not normal to have an outbreak like that. This is not something we see in the United States, it’s something we have not seen in decades.” County Judge Lina Hidalgo said at a news conference on Tuesday afternoon.
There are currently no cases in Houston, officials said.
But, the health and human services secretary said Tuesday in an interview with Fox News that the federal government was shipping doses of vitamin A to Gaines County, the epicenter of the outbreak, and helping to arrange ambulance rides.
KENNEDY SAID doctors in Texas had seen “very, very good results” by treating measles cases with a steroid, budesonide; an antibiotic called clarithromycin; and cod liver oil, which he said had high levels of vitamin A and vitamin D.
However, health experts have said that while vitamin A is sometimes used in low-income countries where malnutrition is a factor, it is ineffective in the U.S, and a dangerous narrative to spread.
There have now been 159 measles cases in Texas since the outbreak began in January, the Texas Department of State Health Services announced Tuesday.
OVER A DOZEN cases have spurted in less than a week since the health department’s last update Friday. Health officials have said that the outbreak could last over two months, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth reported.
“It’s evergreen, it means we’re going to still be in this for at least another two weeks. The fact that it continues to accelerate suggests to me that it’s going to be around for quite some time, I don’t see this going down soon in West Texas,” health official Dr. Peter Hotez said.
Hidalgo emphasized that measles is highly contagious, as before vaccines each person with measles could affect 18 people. By contrast, each person with COVID-19 could affect three people.
However, health officials also noted that since measles has been seen in society before, and since there are vaccines, the state is much more equipped to fight it.
