The Texas health department reported 561 cases of measles in the state on Tuesday, an increase of 20 from April 11, as the U.S. government said it was sending seven people to the state to help battle the outbreak of the childhood disease. - REUTERS
00:00It's been an anxious few months for Michelle Gordon, but on Tuesday, the Texas mom was able to visit a measles vaccination site in Lubbock with her 10 month old son Walker, who is finally old enough for his measles shot. I tried to get in here as quick as I could to give him some protection because it's scary. I mean, two children have died, you know, so I don't want that to be mine. Measles cases jumped to 561 statewide on Tuesday, up 20 in less than a week.
00:30That was as the U.S. government said it was sending seven people to the state to help battle the outbreak of the childhood disease. Dr. Catherine Wells, Lubbock's public health director, told Reuters she never expected an outbreak this big in her own backyard.
00:42I knew there was unvaccinated or vulnerable populations in this area, but seeing an outbreak that's this big, that's probably now the largest outbreak Texas has seen in 30 years.
00:57This will probably be the largest outbreak that the U.S. has seen, probably in the same amount of time.
01:03Dr. Wells warns the outbreak could last a year. So far, 58 people have been hospitalized and two unvaccinated children have died from measles in Texas.
01:13After this news, 10-year-old Cannon Eggleston was happy to get the vaccine.
01:17I feel more confident that I couldn't get whatever this disease is because if I would, it would probably hurt me very bad because of my diabetes.
01:28On Tuesday, Dr. David Sugarman from the CDC gave a rare update on the outbreak and response during a meeting of a panel of experts.
01:36He said the response was being hindered by the cancellation of about $11 billion in federal grants to states that were allocated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
01:45This money was being used to track, prevent, and control infectious diseases, including measles and bird flu.
01:51Sugarman said, quote, we are scraping to find the resources and personnel needed to provide support to Texas and other jurisdictions.
