A Senate committee met Tuesday on Capitol Hill to discuss vaccines and preventable diseases, as the number of measles cases in the United States escalates.
Over the past week, the number of measles cases in the U.S. rose by 19%, affecting new states that include New Jersey, Delaware, and Nevada. The latest numbers from the CDC reveal that a total of 17 states and Washington D.C. are now affected by the outbreak, and a total of 121 people are confirmed to have measles.
Pediatrician Dr. Tim Jacks, who testified at Tuesday’s hearing, discussed his own family situation on Tuesday’s Rundown, opening up about how the outbreak has put his children at risk.
“My son is 10 months old, and in his case, he is too young to be vaccinated against the measles,” Jacks told José Díaz-Balart. “My daughter is battling leukemia right now and they were both recently exposed to measles.” (Children who are too young to get vaccinated or kids who have compromised immune systems, like cancer patients, can’t be immunized against measles.)
As part of Jacks’ daughter’s leukemia treatment, the family visited an outpatient clinic at the end of January where they were notified that a patient present had measles. Both kids must remain at home under quarantine until February 11 (21 days after being exposed) to see if the children show any symptoms of measles.
Nicole Acevedo
I am a bilingual national reporter specializing in issues affecting Latino communities in the U.S., the Caribbean and Latin America. Experience I have produced hundreds of stories across digital, radio and broadcast platforms throughout my career — reporting on everything from elections, natural disasters and immigration to pop culture trends, social justice issues and breaking news. I'm best known for my coverage of the crises affecting Puerto Rico, including its reconstruction process after Hurricane Maria, the island’s financial crisis and more. After graduating from the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University with a bachelor's degree in broadcast and digital journalism in 2016, I joined the inaugural cohort of students who helped launch the Spanish-language bilingual journalism master’s program at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. Awards I was a 2024 finalist for the NAHJ/University of Florida award in investigative journalism for my reporting uncovering the challenges Puerto Rican families face in caring for their elders, given that the island’s population is aging faster than most places on Earth and fragmented by migration. I served as the lead reporter and writer of NBC News' 2022 Hispanic Heritage Month project “Who’s Latino? Amid growing numbers the definition is expanding,” which was awarded an NAHJ Ñ Award for best Latino issues story for print/digital.