Physicians Urge Updating Child Vaccinations Before School Starts
Number of U.S. Measles Cases Already Tops Total of 2025 Cases
Texas physicians have an important message for parents as the new school year is about to begin: Ensure your children are current on all their necessary vaccinations.
Their message comes as the country faces the highest number of measles cases in more than 30 years. This year 2,318 measles cases have been reported in the U.S. so far, already exceeding the total number of cases in all of 2025, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Texans are among people in the 45 jurisdictions nationwide who have gotten sick with measles.
During last year’s measles outbreak in West Texas – at that point the worst in three decades – more than 94% of those affected were not known to be vaccinated against the highly infectious disease.
“Vaccinations help keep your child healthy and help keep the rest of the classroom and school healthy too,” said Hector Ocaranza, MD, chair of the Texas Medical Association (TMA) Council on Science and Public Health.
Dr. Ocaranza said when children get their shots, they also help defend those who are immunocompromised or too young to be vaccinated against preventable diseases.
Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) data show the number of kindergarteners vaccinated with the measles mumps rubella (MMR) vaccine increased slightly – 0.06% – to 93.30% in the 2025-26 school year. However, the number of seventh-graders vaccinated with the MMR vaccine declined 0.12% in the same time frame.
DSHS says the best way to defend against getting sick with measles is to be immunized with two doses of the MMR vaccine, which is one of the required vaccines for children in school. See the full list of required vaccines here.
“The greatest success of vaccines is that parents do not see diseases anymore that we have been able to prevent,” said Dr. Ocaranza. In the U.S., diseases like polio have been eradicated because of the widespread use of effective vaccines.
Dr. Ocaranza acknowledges parents might have questions or concerns. “Tell your doctor about your doubts, your fears. We as parents want to protect our children,” he said, welcoming discussions with parents.
“If you have any questions or if you read something online, talk to your physician,” he said. “They can translate science into something that is very easily understandable.”
TMA is the largest state medical society in the nation, representing more than 60,000 physician and medical student members. It is located in Austin and has 110 component county medical societies around the state. TMA’s key objective since 1853 is to improve the health of all Texans.