Photo: CDC/ James Goodson, M.P.H.
The number of reported measles cases has soared past the number in all of 2024 this week. In the past, the mortality rate of children worldwide has been reduce by 51% thanks to vaccinations. Unfortunately, measles is making a resurgence because of the current vaccine hesitancy trend.
by Colleen ReynoldsOSF Healthcare
However, these days, she’s focused on vaccinations at home.
DeShon says most of the population hasn’t seen the devastating impact of the highly contagious measles because it was eradicated in 2000. But measles is making a resurgence because of vaccine hesitancy. And measles is the most contagious of all vaccine-preventable diseases.
It begins with a runny nose, watery eyes and then a rash so people can be walking around, spreading the airborne virus before severe symptoms develop.
Vaccine hesitancy was fueled in the 1990s by a bad study from a physician who has since lost his license to practice medicine.
“You’re contagious four days before that rash and up to four days after so we could have 8 to 10 days of people walking around not even knowing they have measles and then they’re just spreading it around to people at risk. Obviously, the people most at risk, are the people who are not vaccinated,” DeShon points out.
That includes babies who can’t be vaccinated until age 1, along with pregnant women and immunocompromised cancer patients who can’t get vaccinated.
Vaccine hesitancy was fueled in the 1990s by a bad study from a physician who has since lost his license to practice medicine. The research, published in a respected medical journal, The Lancet, involved only 12 patients and falsely linked vaccines with autism. DeShon said the study has been retracted and there is, in fact, NO scientific evidence that vaccines cause autism.
She emphasizes the National Institutes of Health (NIH) spent millions on research.
“Outside research was also done and there were no links that they could find from that original Lancet study. It got to the point that they said, ‘We’re not going to do anymore studies because they did not see a link between autism and the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine.”
Measles vaccination rates are falling
The Kaiser Family Foundation says measles vaccination rates in most U.S. states have fallen below the 95% threshold scientists consider necessary for so called ‘herd immunity’ to control the disease, and those rates have continued to drop. That’s concerning for DeShon.
“How are we going to stop this? It is not vitamin A. Vitamin A is not going to stop the measles outbreak. We need vaccinations. That is what is going to stop the outbreak that we are seeing, not just in west Texas, but all over in these pockets we’re seeing in the United States right now.”
DeShon stresses when the population is vaccinated, measles goes away. Receiving one and two doses of measles vaccine is 93% and 97% effective, respectively, in preventing measles.
Photo: CDC
The torso of a child with a skin rash due to a case of the three-day measles.
