The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday upheld the role of vaccines in offering protection against measles after an unvaccinated child succumbed to the infection earlier this week.

CDC staff received an email this week telling them to avoid using more than a dozen terms or words-- including "health equity," "race," "bias," and "disparity" -- in their annual performance evaluations;

Gaines County in West Texas is at the heart of the ongoing measles outbreak. Non-medical vaccine exemption rates there are high.