Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is calling the measles outbreak a "call to action" in an Op-Ed and is asking families to consult their healthcare providers about the options to get their kids vaccinated.

The number of people with measles in Texas increased to 146 in an outbreak that led this week to the death of an unvaccinated school-aged child, health officials said Friday. The number of cases — Texas’ largest in nearly 30 years — increased by 22 since Tuesday.

Kennedy Jr. said ending the measles outbreak in Texas is a top priority for him and listed the steps his agency had taken to combat the spread of disease, including supporting the state’s vaccine efforts.

In her hometown of Lubbock, Texas, Leah, a pregnant mother, has been avoiding stores and other public spaces for the last two weeks. On Wednesday, the city saw a six-year-old child who was not vaccinated against the virus die – the first US death from the measles in nearly a decade.

Vaccine hesitancy has been rising for years in the United States. Doctors and parents in one rural county are confronting the consequences.

Donald Trump's top health official wrote in a Fox News op-ed about risks "to unvaccinated individuals" amid a growing measles outbreak.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seemed happy and relaxed in the pictures he shared as the worrying measles outbreak spreads through multiple states, leading to at least one fatality

While RFK Jr has long been sceptical of vaccines, he emphasised the importance of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.