In his book "Booster Shots," pediatric infectious disease physician Adam Ratner emphasizes the urgent need for high vaccination rates to control the highly infectious disease measles. The return of measles outbreaks in the U.S. signals a troubling decline in vaccination, particularly as kindergarten rates fall below the 95% threshold needed to prevent community spread. With an estimated 107,000 child deaths globally from measles in 2023, Ratner warns that a resurgence could have dire consequences if vaccine hesitancy continues to rise, recalling the critical lessons from history regarding the disease's dangers.
It is the most infectious disease that we know by far, much more infectious than flu, COVID or polio or Ebola.
When vaccination levels start to fall, we see measles outbreaks first, followed by outbreaks of other vaccine-preventable diseases.
Globally, it's estimated that measles killed more than 107,000 children in 2023, mostly unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children under the age of five.
With more cases and larger outbreaks, the U.S. may again report measles deaths, a critical concern given the rise in vaccine hesitancy.
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