By now, most of us have heard the news that an unvaccinated child in Texas died from measles just a few weeks ago. It was the first measles death in a decade and the first child measles death in more than two decades. Most of us who are strangers to these measles victims might think that three deaths in two decades is not a terrible number. But we’d be wrong because the three deaths don’t tell the whole story.  

Here is what you need to know: 

• Vaccination rates are declining thanks to misinformation that seems to have staying power (more on that later). 

• Lower vaccination rates mean that measles outbreaks in the US have gotten bigger each year. 

• The US is perilously close to losing its “Measles Eradicated” status, as vaccination rates fall, and the number of yearly measles cases rises. 

• Recent, underreported research shows that measles is much more deadly than the three deaths in twenty years would indicate.
   

How can measles be more deadly than the number of reported measles deaths? 

Because we are learning that measles is proving to be a virus that extends its reach for years after a patient has recovered. During the past decade, we have learned that measles doesn’t just cause the acute illness with the rash and fever—it also erases immune memory. Even after recovering from a measles infection, individuals have lost much of the immunity they had previously built from past infections or vaccinations. This leaves them more susceptible to other diseases for years and means survivors may later encounter childhood illnesses at older ages, when complications can be more severe.  

By destroying some of the bodily functions that keep us healthy, measles may be responsible for many more unnecessary deaths during the course of a lifetime. This makes measles much more dangerous than we have always thought. Until researchers began measuring broad immunity levels right after recovery from the measles, we had no way of knowing that people who had a previous measles infection were facing future infections at a supreme disadvantage.  

Before the introduction of vaccines, it’s possible that measles contributed to a significant proportion of childhood deaths from infectious diseases. If these findings hold, the true toll of measles extends far beyond its immediate death toll, with long-term consequences that could persist long after an outbreak is declared over. This is truly frightening news at a time when vaccine rates are dropping. 

Is the vaccine 100% effective against measles? 

Today, the measles vaccine is usually combined with formulas for mumps and rubella (MMR), or mumps, rubella, and varicella, known to us as chicken pox (MMRV). The two doses are typically given to children between the ages of one and four.  

A single dose of the vaccine is 93 percent effective against measles. The US childhood vaccine schedule recommends two doses, which together are 97 percent effective. Measles was not considered eradicated until scientists figured out that it took two doses to get the US under the eradication level. A fully vaccinated person (3 in 100) can develop measles if exposed to the virus, but the symptoms will be much milder. The vaccine keeps virtually 100% of people alive and out of the hospital. 

What the vaccine will not do is trigger autism.

The measles vaccine has been a major target of vaccine skepticism due to now-debunked research falsely linking it to autism. However, decades of studies involving tens of thousands of children have proven it to be extremely safe and highly effective. 

The Birth of the Big Lie 

The debunked study that falsely linked vaccines to autism was authored by Andrew Wakefield, a former British doctor. His study, published in The Lancet in 1998, claimed to find a connection between the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism. It’s not clear how the study made it through The Lancet’s approval process because the study was a disaster from start to finish. 

• Small and Biased Sample Size – The study was based on just 12 children, a ridiculously small and non-representative sample. 

• Fabricated Data – Investigations revealed that Wakefield manipulated patient records and misrepresented timelines to falsely suggest a link between the vaccine and autism. 

• Conflict of Interest – Wakefield had been paid by lawyers who were representing parents suing vaccine manufacturers. He received about £435,000 (more than $600,000 at the time) from these lawyers before publishing his paper. 

• Lack of Reproducibility – No other researchers could replicate his findings, which is a major red flag in science.

Consequences 

• The Lancet retracted the study in 2010, calling it “utterly false.“ 

• Wakefield lost his medical license in the UK for professional misconduct. 

• Major studies since then—conducted on millions of children—have found zero link between vaccines and autism.

Yet that single, phony, retracted study ignited the vaccine hesitancy that continues to grow, now perpetuated by people in a position to make things worse. 

Why does the myth persist despite overwhelming scientific evidence debunking it? 

1. Emotions and Correlation vs Science and Causation

• For many, a diagnosis of autism in a child is devastating so it is natural for parents to want to find a “why” or something to blame.  

• Autism is often diagnosed around the same age that children receive vaccines (12-18 months). Parents looking for answers may mistakenly correlate the two. 

• Stories from parents who genuinely believe vaccines harmed their children create compelling personal anecdotes, which feel more persuasive than abstract scientific data.
  
  

2. The Power of Misinformation

• The internet and social media have amplified anti-vaccine messaging, making it easy for false claims to spread. 

• Public figures like Jenny McCarthy and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have promoted anti-vaccine rhetoric, making it seem credible. 

• Algorithms favor engaging and emotionally charged content, meaning conspiracy theories often get more visibility than dry scientific explanations. 

• Online anti-vaccine communities create echo chambers, reinforcing misinformation, and isolating members from opposing views. 

• For some, vaccine skepticism becomes part of their identity, making it hard to change their minds without feeling like they’re betraying their beliefs.
  

3. Once a Connection is Created, It’s Hard to Break (You can’t put the egg back in the shell)

• People tend to remember the first thing they hear about a topic, even when later evidence disproves it (anchoring bias).  

• Once parents are afraid, they often seek out information that confirms their fear (confirmation bias). 

• The media tends to put new ideas that may be popular in bold headlines. Remember how wine was supposed to help us live longer? Debunking happens much more quietly.
  
  

4. Mistrust in Institutions

• People love to hate pharmaceutical companies, believing they hide negative side effects to protect profits. 

• Government agencies and the medical community are sometimes seen as untrustworthy, especially after public health missteps (e.g., opioid crisis, past unethical medical experiments).
  
  

5. Myths Tend to Evolve to Accommodate Overwhelming Evidence

• When the MMR vaccine was ruled out as a cause of autism, anti-vaccine groups shifted to blaming vaccine ingredients like thimerosal (a mercury-based preservative)—despite its removal from most vaccines years ago. 

• Some now claim that “too many vaccines too soon” overload a child’s immune system—another claim debunked by immunologists.
   

6. Real but Unrelated Autism Increases

• Autism diagnoses have risen in recent decades, not because of vaccines, but due to better diagnostic criteria, increased awareness, and broader definitions. 

• However, the timing of these diagnoses feeds into the false perception that vaccines play a role.

Kennedy’s Tepid Turnaround 

Robert Kennedy Jr. has been a vocal anti-vaxxer for years. Today he is in charge of the US healthcare system. But even he seems to be retracting his more extreme antipathy for vaccine science in the face of the death of the child in Texas. Kennedy had downplayed the growing outbreak, saying annual outbreaks were “not unusual,” and suggesting that parents administer vitamin A and/or castor oil. 

But on Sunday, Kennedy said he was “deeply concerned about the recent measles outbreak,” in an opinion piece published by Fox News. “Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons,” he wrote. 

But just when it looked as though science had prevailed, Kennedy added that “vaccines are a personal choice.” 

That’s the problem. Many Americans are making the “personal choice” to leave their children unvaccinated based on information overwhelmingly proven to be false. But in doing so, they are risking the lives of their friends and neighbors who would never make the same choice. 

Who is Most At Risk? 

The risks aren’t confined to families who decline vaccinations because measles is among the most contagious diseases known. Certainly, young children who have not yet been vaccinated are at highest risk for contracting the disease and at highest risk of a dangerous outcome. Children remain vulnerable until they receive both doses of the vaccine—typically starting after 12 months and completed between ages four and six. That means the entire population of American children younger than four years old is vulnerable to a measles infection—an infection which can compromise their immune systems for years to come.  

It turns out that some Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers may also be at higher risk of contracting the measles virus. Here’s why: The CDC estimates that prior to 1958-ish, most children were exposed to, and contracted, the highly contagious measles virus. This number declined when the vaccine began being used, but before the national measles vaccine program was adopted in 1963. Some young children during that period were not exposed to the measles and missed getting the vaccine. So there are some Medicare-aged people walking around without any measles immunity. 

Additionally, adults born between 1962 and 1989, most likely only received a single dose of the vaccine, giving them limited immunity to the measles. Given the rising numbers of measles cases and the contagious nature of the disease, this is not an insignificant threat.  

The Bottom Line 

When it comes to measles, we are seeing a perfect storm of contagion. Social media echo chambers are perpetuating vaccine misinformation. More children are being diagnosed with autism, which is mistakenly adding fuel to the fire. We now have an HHS Secretary who is extremely unlikely to promote vaccination and even less likely to perpetuate vaccination requirements.  

Measles is spreading, and for the first time in over 20 years, an unvaccinated child has died from the disease. Now, American families must rely on facts —not baseless fear—to protect our children and our most vulnerable friends and neighbors. Let’s prevent needless deaths.