Health experts say there ought to be no outbreaks in the United States. “Each outbreak signifies a lapse in our public health defenses and poses serious risks, especially to children,” said Dr. Jerome Adams, who served as U.S. Surgeon General during the first Trump administration.

When Health and Human Services Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy answered questions during the first cabinet meeting of the new Trump administration, he incorrectly described the number of people who died in a West Texas measles outbreak and the reason people were hospitalized.

Measles was considered to be eliminted in the U.S. in 2000, thanks to vaccine developments. But vaccination rates have dropped since the covid pandemic began.

Here’s what to know about the outbreak after the first U.S. death since 2015 from the highly contagious—but preventable—respiratory disease.

Declining vaccination rates, decreasing trust in government and a political unwillingness to endorse vaccines is shaping Texas’ measles response.

I recognize the serious impact of this outbreak on families, children, and healthcare workers,” Kennedy wrote on X Friday night.

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Friday said he recognizes the serious impact of the current measles outbreak in Texas, in which a child died this week, and said the government is providing resources,

Kennedy Jr. said ending the measles outbreak in Texas is a top priority for him and listed the steps his agency had taken to combat the spread of disease, including supporting the state’s vaccine efforts.