Texas Mom Says “The Measles Wasn’t That Bad” After Losing 6-Year-Old Daughter to the Disease

The parents of a 6-year-old girl who died from measles in February say they still do not believe in vaccines, even after losing their daughter to the virus. In a video interview with the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense, the Gaines County couple shared that their views on immunization haven’t changed.

The mother, speaking in English, said, “The measles wasn’t that bad. They got over it pretty quickly,” referring to her four other children, who also caught measles but recovered after being treated with castor oil and inhaled steroids.

The family is part of a Mennonite community in West Texas, where vaccination rates are traditionally low. The community has been at the center of a measles outbreak—the largest the state has seen in 30 years, with 279 confirmed cases as of this week, according to the Texas Tribune.

The parents told CHD that their daughter had been sick for days and showed signs of labored breathing before they took her to Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock, where she was intubated and later died. Her siblings became ill after her passing.

Despite losing their daughter, the parents said they still believe vaccines are unnecessary and claimed the illness helps build immunity. “It was her time on Earth,” a translator said the parents told them.

Health experts strongly disagree, warning that measles can cause serious complications like pneumonia, brain swelling, and death. They urge the public not to rely on natural infection to build immunity.

Source: Texas Tribune