{"id":831,"date":"2026-07-27T21:07:54","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T21:07:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/?p=831"},"modified":"2026-07-27T21:07:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T21:07:54","slug":"the-worst-year-for-measles-in-a-generation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/?p=831","title":{"rendered":"The worst year for measles in a generation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This story appeared in <\/em>Today, Explained, a daily newsletter that helps you understand the most compelling news and stories of the day. Subscribe here<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Read more Meta glasses are killing the vibe<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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America formally eradicated measles in the year 2000. But like many other remnants of the 1990s \u2014 flip phones, CDs, baggy pants \u2014 measles is now regrettably and undeniably back.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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More than 2,300 Americans have come down with measles so far this year \u2014 the highest number since 1992. New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that there\u2019ve been more cases in the country in the last two years than in the 24 years prior.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Many of the cases trace back to large outbreaks in South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, some of which have ended. But the underlying problem is both much broader and much trickier to address: As more parents pass on routine childhood vaccinations for their kids, these once-eradicated viruses have more chances to spread.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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For measles, which is incredibly \u2014 almost frightfully \u2014 contagious, 95 percent of people in any given community must be immune to stop its transmission. But today, only 28 percent of US counties vaccinate enough of their kindergarteners to meet that threshold.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Another record-setting year for measles<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Lower vaccination rates are, in large part, a result of political polarization, misinformation, and declining trust in health authorities and institutions. But there\u2019s another, more ironic reason for measles\u2019 resurgence: We did such a good job getting rid of it.<\/p>\n

Read more Why the right is freaking out about \u201cthird worldism\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As late as the 1950s, virtually every American child contracted measles before age 16. Roughly 48,000 patients were hospitalized each year with measles, which is among the most contagious infections known to humanity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But the development of a highly effective vaccine in the 1960s, and a series of aggressive public immunization campaigns in the decades after that, all but eradicated a once-common childhood illness. The federal government poured millions of dollars into vaccination programs, especially for low-income kids. Everyone from Michael Jackson to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles championed measles immunization.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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All that campaigning worked. By the end of the 1990s, more than 90 percent of Americans had received the measles vaccine, and a similar percentage agreed that it was important to vaccinate children. As a result, most people born in the last 40 years have no firsthand experience of how dangerous measles is.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019ve done too good of a job,\u201d one doctor joked to Vox last December. In other words, ironically, America\u2019s success at vaccinating against measles \u2026 has made Americans complacent about measles vaccination.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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One link for later<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u27a8 Go with your gut. <\/strong>The hashtag #GutTok has over 6 billion views on TikTok, and viral trends that promise to \u201chack your gut\u201d through miracle products and cleanses are all the rage. But you don\u2019t need an influencer-endorsed supplement for digestive wellness. Instead, actual experts recommend basic lifestyle steps like eating a high-fiber diet and reducing stress.<\/p>\n

Read more How do you know if you\u2019re wasting your life?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Before you go\u2026<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
See More:<\/span><\/p>\n
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  • Today, Explained newsletter<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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