In a shocking interview released Monday, the parents of an unvaccinated 6-year-old Texas girl who died from measles maintained their anti-vaccination stance, claiming the disease "wasn't that bad" despite their daughter's death.
The interview, conducted by Children's Health Defense, featured the Mennonite couple from Gaines County discussing their daughter's fatal battle with measles on February 26 - the first measles death in Texas in a decade.
"The measles wasn't that bad. They got over it pretty quickly," the mother stated in English, referring to her four surviving children who later contracted the illness. She emphasized they would "absolutely not take the MMR [measles-mumps-rubella vaccine]."
The girl initially showed typical measles symptoms - fever, rash, and respiratory issues. Her condition deteriorated days later when breathing difficulties prompted her parents to take her to Covenant Children's Hospital in Lubbock. After being diagnosed with pneumonia and placed on a ventilator, she died within days.
The parents treated their other children with alternative methods including castor oil and inhaled steroids. The father claimed, contrary to medical evidence, that measles "helps build up a person's immune system."
This case emerges amid Texas's largest measles outbreak in 30 years, with 279 confirmed cases in Gaines and nearby counties. The outbreak has predominantly affected the local Mennonite community, known for low vaccination rates.
Covenant Children's Hospital released a statement Thursday addressing "misleading and inaccurate claims" about the care provided, emphasizing that measles remains a "highly contagious, potentially life-threatening disease" with serious complications including pneumonia and encephalitis.
Public health officials continue to stress that vaccination is the safest and most effective way to prevent measles infection and its potentially fatal complications.