“What Makes Modern Measles Outbreaks Different”

“What Makes Modern Measles Outbreaks Different”
By Sarah Zhang
“Look closely at the outbreak’s edges, though, and the patterns are more unusual: It’s not just children getting measles. Where Texas’s outbreak has spilled over into New Mexico, for example, half of the confirmed cases and one potential death involve adults, largely unvaccinated. Last year, too, adults older than 20 accounted for more than a quarter of U.S. measles cases. This is all in keeping with what experts have warned: Adults are now susceptible to this childhood disease.”
to read the full article go to
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2025/04/measles-outbreak-adults/682324/

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“Not Just Measles”: Whooping Cough Cases Are Soaring as Vaccine Rates Decline”
by Duaa Eldeib and Patricia Callahan
“National rates for four major vaccines, which had held relatively steady in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic, have fallen significantly since, according to a ProPublica analysis of the most recent federal kindergarten vaccination data. Not only have vaccination rates for measles, mumps and rubella fallen, but federal data shows that so have those for pertussis, diphtheria, tetanus, hepatitis B and polio.”
to read the full article go to
https://www.propublica.org/article/whooping-cough-measles-outbreak-vaccine-hesitancy-trump

“CDC redeploys to Texas measles outbreak after layoffs, as RFK Jr. calls vaccine “most effective way” to stop spread”
By Alexander Tin
“A team of three deployed yesterday to meet with county and state officials to assess the immediate needs to respond to this outbreak. The team is meeting with officials again today,” CDC spokesperson Jason McDonald said in an email.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. first said Sunday that the CDC would be redeploying to Texas at its governor’s request, after another unvaccinated child died in the measles outbreak. An 8-year-old girl was the second fatality there this year.”
to read the full article go to
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cdc-texas-measles-outbreak-layoffs-rfk-vaccines/

“RFK Jr. publicly urges people to get the measles vaccine”
By Neha Mukherjee and John Bonifield
““The federal government’s position, my position, is that people should get the measles vaccine, but the government should not be mandating those,” Kennedy said. “I always said during my campaign — and every part, every public statement I’ve made — I’m not gonna take people’s vaccines away from them. What I’m gonna do is make sure that we have good science so that people can make an informed choice.””
to read the full article go to
https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/08/health/measles-outbreak-urban-areas/index.html

“Kennedy Offers Qualified Support for Measles Vaccination”
By Teddy Rosenbluth
“That night, he posted again, this time applauding “two extraordinary healers” who he claimed had effectively treated roughly 300 measles-stricken children with budesonide, a steroid, and clarithromycin, an antibiotic.
Scientists say there are no cures for a measles infection, and that claiming otherwise undermines the importance of a vaccination.”
to read the full article go to
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/health/kennedy-offers-qualified-support-for-measles-vaccination.html

“RFK Jr. claims curve is flattening in Texas measles outbreak. Does the data agree?”
By Mary Kekatos
“About 10 minutes later, Kennedy edited the post to add that the curve has been flattening since early March, when he started sending in reinforcements from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — supplying clinics with vaccines and other medications.”
“Katherine Wells, director of public health for Lubbock, Texas, said last week that public health officials were projecting “a year-long timeline for control of the outbreak.”
“This is going to be a large outbreak, and we are still on the side of increasing number of cases, both due to spread and increased testing capacity,” she said.”
“This outbreak is far from under control — even if the curve begins to flatten, we still face major risks in under-vaccinated communities across the country,” said Dr. John Brownstein…”With so many pockets of low vaccination, we’re still on the brink of widespread, sustained transmission unless urgent action is taken.””
to read the full article go to
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/rfk-jr-claims-curve-flattening-texas-measles-outbreak/story?id=120554374

“As measles spreads, federal budget cuts force closure of vaccine clinics”
By Bram Sable-Smith, Arielle Zionts, and Jackie Fortiér
“Planned clinics were also scuttled in Texas, Minnesota, and Washington, among other places.
Immunization efforts across the country were upended after the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention abruptly canceled $11.4 billion in COVID-related funds for state and local health departments in late March.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the cuts last week in some states, including Arizona, after a group of state Attorneys General sued. In addition, many of the organizations that receive the funds said they must proceed as though they’re gone.”
to read the full article go to
https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/04/10/nx-s1-5357471/measles-outbreak-hhs-federal-budget-cuts-vaccine-clinics

“MAHA Turns on RFK Jr. Over Measles Vaccine Stance”
By Sara Ashley O’Brien and Eliza Collins
“On Sunday, Kennedy endorsed the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, known as the MMR shot, amid an outbreak that has resulted in the deaths of two children and sickened hundreds of people. He reiterated that people should get the vaccine during a CBS interview this week. Following his long and well-documented history of vaccine skepticism, Kennedy’s backing of the shot—which health officials say is safe and effective—has been criticized by key allies, revealing fractures in his fervent base.”
to read the full article go to
https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/rfk-jr-measles-mmr-vaccine-maha-reaction-8dc840ef

“RFK Jr says his response to measles outbreak should be ‘model for the world’”
By Jessica Glenza
“The health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, said on a press tour that his response to a large measles outbreak in west Texas should be a “model for the world”. The statement came after Kennedy attended the funeral of a third measles victim over the weekend.”
““The numbers continue to grow by the day, but … the growth rate has diminished substantially,” Kennedy told reporters during a press conference, while promoting his health agenda through the American south-west.
Public health experts have said that, in fact, there is little evidence to support this claim.”
“Measles is the most contagious illness that we know of and it is preventable,” said Susan Polan, associate executive director of the American Public Health Association. “What we’re seeing now… is a far, far undercount in terms of the actual number of cases.”
to read the full article go to
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/09/rfk-jr-measles-outbreak-texas

“Kennedy draws from misinformation playbook by touting an inhaled steroid to treat measles”
By Aria Bendix, Liz Szabo and Brandy Zadrozny
“Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Sunday touted two particular medications that have not been shown to work as first-line treatments for measles: the steroid budesonide and the antibiotic clarithromycin.
Although experts say there are no specific treatments proven to help people recover faster from measles, Kennedy claimed on X that the medications had been instrumental in treating around 300 children in Texas, and told Fox News that doctors prescribing them had seen “very, very good results.” Kennedy has been sharply criticized by medical experts for weeks for spreading misinformation about the measles vaccine and failing to encourage parents to vaccinate their children. (He has since said that the vaccine is the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles, and on Wednesday said that people should get it.)”
to read the full article go to
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/kennedy-draws-misinformation-playbook-touting-inhaled-steroid-treat-me-rcna200085

“Push for Texas to weaken vaccine mandates persists as measles surge”
By Kayla Guo
“As measles tears through West Texas — infecting hundreds, hospitalizing dozens and claiming the lives of two children — some lawmakers in Austin are pushing bills to roll back vaccine requirements and expand access to exemptions under the banner of “choice.””
“Most vaccine-related bills have not yet been heard in committee in the House, while the Senate has advanced a number of bills that would require health care providers to obtain “full informed consent” before administering a vaccine to a child and a parental “bill of rights” that includes the right to opt their child out of immunization.”
to read the full article go to
https://www.texastribune.org/2025/04/09/texas-measles-legislation-vaccines/

“Illinois health officials launch measles simulator dashboard to prepare for possible outbreak”
“The Illinois Department of Public Health launched a measles simulator dashboard Wednesday, with data on vaccination rates school-by-school across the state to help officials assess the severity of a potential outbreak should one occur.”
““The Department is building on the lessons we learned from our successful measles response in 2024 by ensuring that our residents have access to meaningful information to guide their decision-making. Our new dashboard provides the public with the ability to review the measles vaccination rates in their child’s school and its risk for an outbreak.”
to read the full article go to
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/illinois-health-officials-launch-measles-simulator-dashboard-to-prepare-for-possible-outbreak/3718307/

“NJ loses herd immunity to measles, now at greater risk”
By Lilo H. Stainton
“New Jersey has lost its herd immunity — the threshold for protecting a community from rampant disease spread — against the measles virus, putting people at greater risk of an outbreak from a disease thought to be eradicated two decades ago.
Dr. Kaitlan Baston, the state health commissioner, told New Jersey lawmakers that prior to the COVID-19 pandemic more than 95% of state residents had been immunized against measles, a level that provided sufficient community protection. New Jersey has identified three unrelated measles cases in 2025 and more than 600 have been diagnosed nationwide, including two children and an adult who have died.
“Unfortunately, post-pandemic, as a state, we have dipped below that level,” Baston said, with vaccination rates now closer to 92%. “And of course there are pockets that are even lower,” Baston said, noting that is a statewide average. Immunization rates in Ocean County are under 85%, the lowest in the state, according to state data.”
to read the full article go to
https://www.njspotlightnews.org/2025/04/nj-loses-herd-immunity-against-measles-now-at-greater-risk/

“Potential measles exposure reported in NJ”
by: Emily Rahhal
“A non-New Jersey resident with measles recently passed through New Jersey while infectious, according to the department. The person stopped at the Thomas Edison Service Area on the southbound New Jersey Turnpike on April 5 between 8:15 p.m. and 10:45 p.m., officials said.
Anyone who was exposed could develop symptoms as late as April 26. People who think they may have been exposed should call ahead to their health care provider for evaluation. Officials have not traced any positive cases to this possible exposure.”
to read the full article go to
https://pix11.com/news/local-news/potential-measles-exposure-reported-in-nj/

“New York warns residents going to Canada: ‘Measles is only a car ride away’”
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/new-york-warns-residents-going-to-canada-measles-is-only-a-car-ride-away

“Possible measles exposure at 2 ER locations in Philadelphia region, health officials warn”
By 6abc Digital Staff
“The Philadelphia Health Department is warning about a possible measles exposure at two locations in the region.
“Sadly, we have identified another case of measles in our region. We believe there is no threat to the general public because of this case,” said Dr. Palak Raval-Nelson, Commissioner, Philadelphia Department of Public Health.”
to read the full article go to
https://6abc.com/post/possible-measles-exposure-2-emergency-room-locations-philadelphia-region-health-officials-warn/16156854/

Measles

“What Makes Modern Measles Outbreaks Different”

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