vaccinations

On June 9, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. fired all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, saying the board has lost public trust and this was the only way to restore it.

The total number of confirmed cases linked to the region's measles outbreak is now up to 738.

Ninety- four people have been hospitalized with measles since it first broke out in Gaines County in January.

Gilbert Handal witnessed the devastating toll of measles on children in a Chilean hospital before the vaccine. Now, he warns of the dangers of forgetting that past.

The bill would allow a vaccine exemption form to be downloadable. Currently, a form must be requested from the state and mailed to the recipient.

Officials say an unvaccinated child in Sedgwick County has tested positive for measles.

Health care professionals said the only way to prevent measles is to receive two doses of the MMR vaccine. Measles complications can include pneumonia, hearing loss, meningitis, and death.

Two infants have died from whooping cough in Louisiana in the past six months as Texas reports a significant surge in the vaccine-preventable illness. Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a highly contagious, potentially fatal respiratory disease. Infants who are too young to be vaccinated and immunocompromised people are most susceptible.

This brings the West Texas outbreak to 663 cases since its inception in late January.

Kansas has reported 37 cases. Wichita hasn't had a case since 2017.