Guess Who’s Back?: The Return of Preventable Diseases

Sign Pointing to a Measles Testing Site in Texas

Photo by Julio Cortez

It starts like any other illness: a dry cough, runny nose, maybe a slight fever. Then come the white spots that develop inside the patient’s mouth. Eventually, a rash appears on the face, spreading downwards across the body. Starting in Gaines County, Texas, the disease has begun reaching out into all corners of the country, including Maryland’s Howard and Prince George's Counties. The headline of one newspaper read that local officials in Texas predict the outbreak could take up to a year to contain. The disease: measles, one of the most contagious viruses in the world.

But this headline was not written in 1958 when measles last peaked, it was written on March 18th, 2025. Despite being declared eradicated back in 2000, measles outbreaks have begun to reappear. The CDC has confirmed that 935 Americans have tested positive for measles this year, but this number is likely much higher due to undercounting. Only five years on from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the fight to contain a contagious disease outbreak is once again in full swing. But why is this happening? Why is a disease that was declared eliminated from the United States in 2000 now making a resurgence? The good news is that the answer is rather simple: declining rates of vaccination. The bad news is that this poses a dangerous threat to public health in America.

By now, you have likely heard about the measles outbreak that began this year in Gaines County, Texas. Since then, 935 Americans have tested positive for measles across 30 states. 96% of the measles cases this year are from people who are either unvaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status. 13% of confirmed cases have also been hospitalized for measles, with nearly a quarter being under the age of five. There have been two confirmed deaths thus far, with a third under investigation. Both of these deaths were school-aged children who were not vaccinated against the disease, with one confirmed as having no underlying conditions. These deaths were completely preventable, as two doses of the MMR vaccine is 97% effective at protecting against measles.

Measles Vaccination Rates in the United States since 2020

Chart by Sharon Hessney

With so little time having passed since the COVID-19 pandemic, we have the resources available to combat these returning diseases. Except, the Trump Administration has made it abundantly clear that they are planning to cut funding for infectious disease research. Under a recent budget proposal, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is expected to see its budget fall by more than 30%, with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Institute of Health expected to lose more than 40% of each of their budgets. This is all in addition to the fact that the United States has withdrawn from the World Health Organization (WHO), which is the primary international body for containing the spread of infectious diseases. The World Health Organization has been crucial towards efforts to combat measles worldwide by ensuring international cooperation on outbreak identification and vaccine research. However, the United States was also one of the WHO’s largest donors, meaning that it will face a sharp decrease in funding with the U.S. withdrawal from the organization. To make matters even worse, the current Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has repeatedly voiced his skepticism about the effectiveness of the measles vaccine (which has been repeatedly disproven). Before becoming the Secretary of HHS, Kennedy served as the chair of Children's Health Defense, an anti-vaccine nonprofit that spreads misinformation about vaccines. Although Kennedy has recently stated publicly that the MMR vaccine is the most effective method for preventing measles, he is far from absolved from his work in the anti-vaccine field, and continues to question the effectiveness of tested scientific treatments.

I would like to clarify something at this time: if you have genuine questions or concerns about a vaccine, you should ask a healthcare professional for more information. Maybe you’ve had an allergic reaction to a vaccine in the past, or maybe you have a weakened immune system. It could just be that you are unsure about the vaccine schedule and are wondering when it would be best to get vaccinated. These are questions that health professionals are well-equipped to answer, and they can work to find a solution to your situation that will best protect both your health and the health of those around you. The point is, it is ok to have questions about vaccines and your health, but it is imperative that you be sure any information you receive is accurate and applicable to your situation.

Talk to a health professional if you have concerns about a vaccine

Photo by Phuriphat Chanchonabot

With that being said, how can we work to prevent other diseases like measles from returning in the future? The first step is obvious: don’t cut funding for institutions that work to prevent disease outbreaks. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health agencies served as the primary means through which information about the spread of the disease was communicated. Additionally, research institutions were crucial for the effort to create a vaccine against Covid-19, which would not have been possible without the funding they received. For any future outbreaks and even current vaccine research, these institutions need to be operating at full capacity to prevent as many deaths as possible.

We must also focus on increasing vaccination rates. The World Health Organization has found that, in order for measles to be eradicated in a given population, about 95% of that population must be vaccinated against the disease in order to achieve herd immunity. This is the point at which enough individuals are vaccinated against a disease that the population as a whole effectively becomes immune to the disease. However, recent estimates suggest that only about four states actually meet this threshold, meaning that most states could be at risk for outbreaks of measles. The key to this is combatting the deluge of misinformation that is fueling vaccine skepticism. To accomplish this, accurate information about vaccines must be able to not only reach skeptical groups, but also take precedence over false information. Existing research on vaccine skepticism suggests that the best way to combat misinformation around vaccines is to simply talk to people who are not receiving accurate information to address their concerns. By focusing on alleviating a skeptic’s concerns rather than outright dismissing them, it helps to communicate to that person that you are taking the matter seriously.

If you ever find yourself in a situation where you are talking about the efficacy of vaccines with a skeptic, there are a few things you should do. First, listen to their concerns. It is perfectly normal for someone to be concerned about something they may not fully understand, and vaccines are no different. After listening to their concerns, you can then focus on addressing their concerns. To accomplish this, you must be well informed of the scientific literature surrounding both the development and application of vaccines. For example, a skeptic may say that natural immunity is better at protecting against a disease than a vaccine. To respond to this, you could tell them that the scientific community has found notable benefits to vaccines over natural immunity, such as carrying significantly less risk, vaccine doses being more reliable than direct infection, and immunity being easier to track. You can also appeal to their values, such as wanting to protect the people they care about. Explain to them that getting vaccinated can help protect individuals with compromised immune systems. Most importantly, you should tell them to ask their doctor about any concerns they may have about a vaccine. Medical professionals are well equipped to answer any questions someone may have about a vaccine, its side effects, the recommended vaccine schedule, and more. By taking these steps, not only are you able to combat vaccine misinformation, but also engage in a constructive conversation that doesn’t downplay the other person’s concerns.

Ultimately, if we are going to work to create a more healthy society, vaccination rates need to be increased so that preventable diseases can be eliminated. To do this, we must rebuild trust in the scientific method for medical advancements by ensuring widespread access to accurate medical information. So please, if for some reason you haven’t gotten vaccinated against a preventable disease, especially measles, I highly recommend that you ask your doctor about getting vaccinated as soon as possible.