In Hobbs, #NewMexico, Sherif says about 85% of his patients are on #Medicaid, the federal & state #HealthInsurance program for #LowIncome Americans. His clinic orders about $50,000 worth of #measles, #chickenpox & other #vaccines per month through the program, he says, an amount of #money impossible for his small clinic to afford if not covered by the federal program.

“If I were to buy them by myself, I would not get enough for my patients,” he said.

As a doctor in training more than 20 years ago, she cared for a teen boy who died from a degenerative neurological condition linked to his #measles #infection as an infant, when he was too young to be vaccinated.

“There are really bad, scary things that we can protect our #children from,” she said.

#NewMexico officials have tallied 65 cases & one death of an unvaccinated adult. These are the first #deaths from #measles in the #UnitedStates since 2015.

Dr. Alex Cvijanovich, a pediatrician in Albuquerque, said NM has one of the nation’s highest rates of childhood #poverty & says she is terrified about what could happen if the #children’s #vaccine program is scaled back.

…Over the past decade, #Texas has administered 5.6 million doses of the #MMR #vaccine through the program…. #NewMexico has received nearly 364k doses of the MMR vaccine over the same time period…

TX ofcls said on Tues that the state’s #measles #outbreak had grown to 624 cases, including 64 who were #hospitalized. 2 unvaccinated #children with no underlying #health conditions have died in the state, including an 8-year-old girl…

#Congress created the #Vaccines for #Children program in 1993 after a US #measles #epidemic had killed dozens of children a few years earlier. The #CDC found
that >50% of the children who got measles then were unvaccinated. The #cost of the #immunization was a primary reason families had skipped the shot even though they were seeing doctors regularly….

Dr. Sugerman, a snr scientist leading #CDC’s #measles response, highlighted #COVID-19 #funding cuts before a fed advisory panel: “We are scraping to find the resources & personnel needed to provide support to #Texas, & other jurisdictions.”

#Health Secy #RFKJr has overseen the huge reductions in force & budget after casting doubt on #vaccines for decades. In the current measles #outbreak, he is promoting unproven treatments while giving a tepid endorsement of the measles, #mumps & #rubella vax.

At the same time, #HHS canceled about $11 billion in #COVID-related grants to state & local #health departments that were used for a wide variety of #vaccine-related clinics & outreach activities, including for #measles. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the cuts in some states.

The #CDC employees who staff the #children’s #vaccine program were *largely* untouched, 3 sources familiar w/the situation said.
However, about 20 others were fired who comprised a unit that helped promote the program in #communities at high risk of #InfectiousDisease, including during the current #measles #outbreak, these sources said. These employees helped bolster the confidence in the safety & effectiveness of #vaccines, they said.