SEATTLE — Measles outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico have led to nearly 300 cases and two deaths, raising public health concerns. Isolated cases have also been reported in a number of states, including Washington. Public Health — Seattle & King County last month confirmed a case of measles in an infant who had traveled abroad.
The cases come as public health experts have been increasingly concerned with falling childhood vaccination rates in the past several years, and of a growing anti-vaccination movement in the U.S.
Data from the Washington State Department of Health shows that in 36 of the state’s 39 counties, the rate of vaccination against measles among kindergarten students fell from the 2019-20 to the 2023-24 school years…