Parents of girl who died after measles infection said they wouldn't get MMR vaccine

The child, age 6, died on Feb. 26 after being hospitalized in Lubbock, as reported by the Texas Department of State Health Services. 

The agency stated it was "the first death from measles in the ongoing outbreak in the South Plains and Panhandle regions" - adding that the child was not vaccinated.

On March 15, the child's parents spoke with Children's Health Defense about the experience in an interview that aired on "Good Morning, CHD."

When the girl, named Kaylee, first got sick, the parents said they figured it was measles because the illness was "going around" in their community.

Two days after the girl developed a rash, her mother took her to the doctor, who provided a cough remedy and recommended fever-reducing medication.

Although Kaylee's measles started to go away, she began developing complications, including a fever that continued to rise, her parents told Children's Health Defense.

"I just remember before they wanted to put her on the ventilator that she was very thirsty," the mother said in the interview. "Her mouth was all sticky and I wanted to give her water, but they didn't let me."

The child passed away shortly after that.

Even after their daughter's death, the parents are not proponents of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR vaccine).

"We would absolutely not take the MMR [vaccine]," Kaylee's mother said. "The measles wasn't that bad. They got over it pretty quickly."

The couple said they have not yet received their daughter's death certificate, noting that it is possible she died of pneumonia rather than measles.

"God does no wrong, and He wanted this to wake people up," he told Children's Health Defense. "He's woken us up for sure, to start a better life and come closer to Him."

Texas DSHS has reported that the majority of measles cases have been mostly unvaccinated, school-aged children.

"The standard recommendation from health authorities like the CDC is a two-dose series of the MMR vaccine," Fox News medical contributor Dr. Nicole Saphier previously told Fox News Digital.

Each person's situation is different and should be weighed carefully after a thorough conversation with a trusted medical team, Saphier added.

Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and Fox News' senior medical analyst, also emphasized the importance of measles vaccinations - "particularly with the number of circulating measles cases and underimmunized people coming into the U.S. at a time when there is a big measles surge around the world."

As of March 20, a total of 378 confirmed measles cases had been reported in 18 U.S. states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.