Measles outbreak erupts in one of Texas' least vaccinated counties (opens in new tab)

(arstechnica.com)

11 pointssmy200111y ago8 comments

8 comments

I look forward to the rapid response of the new Health and Human Services secretary on this crisis.

Would HHS--a federal organization--normally be involved for something of this nature in a single state?

Are you implying the CDC (part of PHS and itself part of HHS) has no authority to track and provide technical resources to combat measles outbreaks within individual states?

https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Public_Health_...

Terr_1y ago

No, I'm asking what particular "rapid response" you would expect at this moment from a typical HHS secretary.

A declaration or official determination? Dispatching some kind of team? A press conference to assure the American public that they are aware and monitoring the situation closely?

1 more reply

kccoder1y ago

Various federal organizations get involved in single-state issues in their purview all the time, including the CDC. A single state outbreak can quickly become a multi-state outbtreak, then a nationwide outbreak. Measles, being one of the most contagious diseases in existence, is no joke, so even a small outbreak can be cause for serious concern. Measles has a r0 between 12 and 18, covid has an r0 between 1.4 and 2.4; when extrapolated exponentially, things get gnarly at an alarming rate.

basementcat1y ago

All snark aside (I have been guilty of too much) I hope for a quick recovery for all involved, especially the children.

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8 comments

basementcat1y ago

I look forward to the rapid response of the new Health and Human Services secretary on this crisis.

Terr_1y ago

Would HHS--a federal organization--normally be involved for something of this nature in a single state?

basementcat1y ago

Are you implying the CDC (part of PHS and itself part of HHS) has no authority to track and provide technical resources to combat measles outbreaks within individual states?

https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Public_Health_...

Terr_1y ago

No, I'm asking what particular "rapid response" you would expect at this moment from a typical HHS secretary.

A declaration or official determination? Dispatching some kind of team? A press conference to assure the American public that they are aware and monitoring the situation closely?

1 more reply

kccoder1y ago

basementcat1y ago

All snark aside (I have been guilty of too much) I hope for a quick recovery for all involved, especially the children.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse