The United States is experiencing a measles outbreak in New York, New Mexico and Texas for the first time in decades. There have been over 233 reported cases of people contracting the illness in Texas alone, mostly children, since the first reported case in late January. On March 3, an unvaccinated, six year old from Texas was the first reported death in the U.S. since 2015 due to measles.

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory illness that is spread when an infected person coughs, breathes or sneezes and then comes in contact with a person. It affects the respiratory system, leading to issues with pneumonia and bronchitis, and can occasionally be deadly due to  swelling of the brain. Symptoms of a runny nose and cough appear to be a fever or flu at first, the main cause for misdiagnosis, and can escalate to white spots in the mouth and rashes over the body. Calls for concern have been raised considering the disease was eradicated with the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccination that was introduced in 1971.

St. Edward’s University has already issued a schoolwide email detailing the exact timeline of the outbreak, possible symptoms and instructions after coming in contact with the disease. Although the disease mainly affects children, areas with a high density of people, like universities, can become hubs for the disease to spread.

Following the aftermath of COVID-19, government trust was at an all time low, especially among people who are anti-vaccine. People not only refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine, but also refused to vaccinate their children. As a result, the “herd immunity” of communities has declined. Herd immunity refers to a community that has enough people treated against a disease to make the community immune. We saw how detrimental the refusal to be vaccinated was with COVID-19, so what does that mean for this recent outbreak and the entirety of Texas?

The U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has only added more confusion and concern as he has been hesitant to take a solid stance. In his address to the American people he mentions implementations to make vaccines readily available “for all those who want them,” but never specifically advised people to take them.  Additionally, Kennedy Jr. has also commented on the use of steroids, cod liver oil and specifically vitamin A in hospitals to help prevent measles. All of which are not suggested by doctors as a viable option compared to the MMR vaccine. He has even resorted to blaming a “poor diet and health” on outbreak. Surprisingly, President Donald J. Trump has not addressed the outbreak. Could this have to do with the way he handled the COVID-19 pandemic? 

We are seeing a lot of similarities now from when Trump was president in 2020. Both have refused to suggest vaccines as a means to end the outbreaks and even suggested treatment not approved by doctors. In fact, doctors are now concerned that Americans are being misguided when it comes to how to keep themselves measles-free. 

Millions of Americans saw how Trump mishandled and misinformed the public about COVID-19. Even going as far as suggesting hydroxychloroquine as a cure despite his lack of medical background. The mishandling and misinformation of COVID-19 was detrimental to Trump’s failure to reelect in 2020, and I believe Trump has decided to remain quiet now for the same reason Kennedy Jr. has, to protect their best interest.

There is already a solution: the measles vaccine that saved millions of Americans decades ago. It worked to completely eradicate measles in 2000, and again in 2019 when the U.S. experienced the largest outbreaks of measles since 1992. Then health secretary, Alex Azar, fully supported and promoted the use of vaccines. 

So why isn’t our government pushing for the use of a vaccine? The answer is simple, political ignorance.

It is not hard to tell that our current appointed leaders have placed their reputation above our health. While it is everyone’s choice to remain unvaccinated or not, vaccines are instrumental in preventing another pandemic. As Americans, it is time that we stop battling scientific facts with political ignorance. We must stop analyzing everything through blue and red lenses and instead promote a U.S. that has everybody’s best interest at mind. As the state with the most reported cases of measles, and the only recorded death in a decade, Texas hasn’t done a good job to address any of its residents’ health concerns. Our government has failed us before with COVID-19 by not addressing the necessary dangers and precautions, and instead disregarded the lives of millions of americans. Doing so again will only reflect the poor choice of millions of Americans in choosing their country’s leaders.