In 2000, it was officially declared that measles was completely eradicated in the US, according to The World Health Organization (WHO). But in a sudden turn of events, measles has broken out in Texas and has already claimed two children’s lives. Those two deaths are the first deaths by measles in a decade. People are seeking answers as to why this disease is coming back.
Measles, also known as rubeola, is a highly contagious disease which can have permanent long-term effects and can be fatal. When asked about how dangerous measles is, the Bio-Med Ms. Sylvia Law said, “The fact of the matter is, measles is highly contagious. I believe there are over 500 cases in Texas right now. For every 1,000 children who get measles, 1-3 will die.” According to the Cleveland Clinic, measles can be characterized through rashes, fevers, coughs, runny nose, vomiting and more. Measles is serious, as it can cause conditions like pneumonia and brain swelling. At its worst, it can cause permanent blindness, deafness, paralysis and death. Luckily the Cleveland Clinic states, “The measles vaccine is extremely effective at preventing measles. To be fully protected, you need two doses of either, Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine or the Measles, mumps, rubella, varicella (MMRV) vaccine.”
Even though measles was eradicated from the US, it remained an epidemic in other countries. The CDC keeps record of some of the countries which are suffering from high volume measles cases. Some of these countries reported as many as 7,000 measles cases annually. The reason why the US was able to keep measles cases low to non-existent was because of vaccinations. According to WHO, in 2023, 92.7% of kids in kindergarten got both shots of the MMR or MMRV vaccine. In 2024, people became more and more wary of vaccines after the miscommunication and fear which occurred around COVID vaccinations. Due to this wariness, many parents have stopped vaccinating their children. This significant decrease does not just impact these unvaccinated kids, when fewer people get vaccinated, herd immunity is not achievable. According to the Cleveland Clinic, herd immunity refers to when about 85% of people in a major population are vaccinated against a disease, which makes it extremely hard for a disease to spread. This is evident with COVID: since so many people were vaccinated, COVID’s spread slowed significantly and is no longer considered a pandemic. When it comes to measles, John Hopkins University states that while in other cases 85% of people need to be vaccinated to provide herd immunity, measles requires around 95% of people to be vaccinated due to its highly contagious nature. When herd immunity is successful, a disease can be fully eradicated. This was demonstrated by polio, which, according to the WHO, was eliminated from the US in 1994 because of herd immunity. Without herd immunity, diseases can run rampant and can cause outbreaks like at the beginning of the COVID pandemic.
When asked about what they thought about the decrease in vaccinations, sophomore Sophia Bauer said, “My BioMed teacher, Ms. Law, had a talk with my class about how the decrease in vaccinations is actually extremely dangerous.”
When asked why she thinks cases of measles were on the rise after the year 2000 and before the pandemic, Bauer said, “It has been over 20 years since 2000. Many people have likely forgotten or just haven’t been informed about the measles virus since many people have never been exposed to it in their life. I think what caused such a steady increase in cases is the lack of education and understanding about the measles.” The education on measles is not widespread and many people are forgetting about the dangers of measles. Bauer is not the only one who believes there is a lack of education. Freshman Eleanor Tubbs agrees, “[Measles] is not talked about a lot.” According to John Hopkins University, when cases of measles began to disappear, many people believed the disease was no longer a threat and began to move away from vaccination.
Hospitals are preparing for the outbreak. Seattle Children’s Hospital is now requiring masks for their staff and only allows the patient to bring along one guardian and sibling to attend in person doctors’ appointments to limit the amount of possible exposure. Other doctors’ offices are following suit by requiring patients to fill out a form stating that they do not have rashes, a cough, a fever over 100 degrees, a runny nose and have not been in contact with a person infected with measles for 30 days. Many of these practices were put in place during COVID to help manage the spread of disease and were proven to be very effective.
With all of this information, people can understand why, as of April 1st, 2025, Forbes reported that 485 cases of measles have been confirmed in Texas. 485 cases in three months in one state is almost double the amount of measles cases found in every state combined in 2024. Hopefully after this outbreak, more education and awareness of diseases can be spread.
