The Texas Medical Association is urging parents to make sure their children are current on all required vaccinations before the new school year begins, as the United States faces its highest number of measles cases in more than three decades.
According to a July 27 news release from the association, 2,318 measles cases have been reported nationwide in 2026 so far, already exceeding the total for all of 2025, based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data cited by TMA. The association said Texans are among those sickened across 45 jurisdictions nationwide.
The warning carries added weight in Texas, where last year’s measles outbreak in West Texas was the worst in three decades. More than 94% of those affected in that outbreak were not known to be vaccinated against the highly infectious disease, the association said.
“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 TMA Council on Science and Public Health, in the release. He said vaccinated children also help protect classmates who are immunocompromised or too young to be vaccinated.
Citing Texas Department of State Health Services data, TMA said the share of kindergartners vaccinated with the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine rose slightly to 93.30% in the 2025-26 school year, while the share of vaccinated seventh-graders declined 0.12%. State health officials recommend two doses of the MMR vaccine, one of the shots required for schoolchildren, as the best protection against measles.
Ocaranza acknowledged that some parents have questions or concerns and encouraged them to raise those with a physician. “If you have any questions or if you read something online, talk to your physician,” he said, adding that doctors “can translate science into something that is very easily understandable.” TMA, the release said, is the largest state medical society in the nation, representing more than 60,000 physician and medical student members.