The ongoing measles outbreak in West Texas has doubled in size to 48 cases. It's the state's worst in nearly 30 years.

State health officials said Friday in a news release that those who are infected are either unvaccinated or their vaccination status is unknown. Thirteen people have been hospitalized.

The cases have been concentrated in a “close-knit, undervaccinated” Mennonite community, Texas Department of State Health Services spokesperson Lara Anton said. Gaines County is highly rural, so many of the families send their children to small private schools or are homeschooled, Anton said.

“The church isn’t the reason that they’re not vaccinated,” Anton said. “It’s all personal choice and you can do whatever you want. It’s just that the community doesn’t go and get regular health care.”

  • @ByteJunk
    4•4 days ago

    And perhaps that’s because education and healthcare are both massively monetized in the US, and Simpleton Jr. out there in the middle of nowhere isn’t gonna bring anyone any profit, so they’re blissfully forgotten until they want their vote.

    “The church isn’t the reason that they’re not vaccinated,” Anton said. “It’s all personal choice and you can do whatever you want. It’s just that the community doesn’t go and get regular health care.”