Despite a severe measles outbreak, the Texans for Vaccine Choice movement is gaining traction in the state legislature, thanks in part to the support of the new Secretary of Health, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine skeptic. More than 60 bills have been introduced in Texas, three of which have already passed the House, facilitating school exemptions, limiting vaccine advertising, and prohibiting doctors from denying transplants to the unvaccinated. According to proponents, the goal is “to make vaccine status irrelevant in Texas society.” Public health leaders, however, warn: growing distrust of vaccines risks fueling new health tragedies.
As reported in the New York Times, Rebecca Hardy, president of the group, said, “For the 10 years that Texans for Vaccine Choice has existed, we have had a federal government that has been totally irrelevant or has worked against us.” She added, “The women of Texans for Vaccine Choice have long been inspired by Mr. Kennedy.”
She recounted how the most difficult time had been in 2015, with a bill strengthening mandatory vaccination, and how much the group had appreciated Kennedy Jr.’s opposition to the measure: “I don’t think it’s appropriate to force people to undergo, or have their children undergo, a medical procedure in this country.”
In 2019, the group hosted Mr. Kennedy for an event at the State Capitol in Austin. In the 2024 election, Ms. Hardy told the media that after a decade of following political speeches, she rarely gets emotional. But last year, when she saw Mr. Kennedy announce that he was merging his campaign with Donald J. Trump’s, “She had tears in her eyes.”
Meanwhile, through May 19, 2025, 1,024 cases of measles have been reported in the United States in 31 jurisdictions, with 3 confirmed deaths, all among unvaccinated individuals or those with unknown vaccination status. In Texas, the measles outbreak is the most severe in 30 years, with 718 confirmed cases, 89 hospitalizations, and 2 deaths among unvaccinated children. Most cases are concentrated in Gaines County, with 406 infections, mainly among members of a Mennonite community.
Both deaths in Texas occurred among unvaccinated children: the first case in February in Lubbock, and the second in March in the same area.
According to the Houston Chronicle, the situation is improving thanks to increased vaccination, but health authorities warn that the risk of new outbreaks remains high, especially in areas with low immunization rates.
