AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Public Health, the health department for the city of Austin and Travis County, is expected to provide an update Friday on the current situation of measles in Texas, as well as the level of threat locally.
Measles is a highly contagious airborne disease spread by contact with an infected person through coughing and sneezing. It can stay in the air and on surfaces for two hours, even after the infected person has left.
According to the health department, it will also be making a call for people to get vaccinations against the disease.
Typically, the first dose of the vaccine against measles is given to children between 12 and 15 months old, and the second is given between the ages of 4 and 6, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This week, an unvaccinated school-aged child who was hospitalized with measles died, marking the first death in the current outbreak.
APH said elected officials, such as Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett and Travis County Judge Andy Brown, would be in attendance.
KXAN will livestream the 2:30 p.m. briefing in this story.
