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It doesn't take long at all for a single case of the measles to turn into a genuine outbreak. It takes even less times, it seems, for irresponsible political rhetoric and misinformed social media nonsense to spread in a way that is just as dangerous.
By mid-April of 2025, the U.S. has more than double the number of measles cases it saw in all of 2024. There are outbreaks in Ohio, Texas -- 505 cases (with two deaths, children ages 6 and 8), New Mexico, Indiana and Oklahoma.
Those are just the states where the spread is now being labeled an outbreak. There are also cases in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont and Washington.
Herd immunity is waning in this country, as childhood vaccination rates decline. That improbable shift came with the rise in parents and guardians giving in to truly bizarre "political" and social media fear-based campaigns with zero basis in fact. One can't help but wonder what those in positions of power and influence hope to gain by convincing people NOT to take steps that will protect their children, their families and their communities.
It's not too late to do something about it, however. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, children between the ages of 12 and 15 months can get their first measles, mumps and rubella vaccine shot; and their second between ages 4 and 6 years.
There's been an effective way to prevent measles since 1963. But it only works if enough people are vaccinated against this potentially deadly disease.
Get it done.