The US has lost its measles elimination status after 25 years
The Pan American Health Organization concluded this week that measles is spreading continuously in the US again, according to researchers who spoke to KFF Health News.
The Prepper Brief, Sat, Nov 14, 6:30 PM ET, Source: NPR
Measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000. That status depends on each outbreak dying out within a year, and they no longer do. Researchers with direct knowledge of the decision told KFF Health News that the Pan American Health Organization concluded this week that regular transmission is back. A Utah outbreak passed the one-year mark in June. PAHO had planned to announce the finding on Nov. 17.
In the past two years more than 8,000 people have gotten sick and more than 830 have been hospitalized, and states have reported 13 measles deaths. Recent deaths include a 7-month-old in New York and infants in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Babies usually aren't vaccinated before they turn one.
HHS blamed vaccination gaps that opened before this administration, and the White House said the president and the health secretary have encouraged measles vaccination. Many scientists blame the administration's cuts to state immunization programs and its handling of vaccine messaging. Childhood vaccination rates have fallen since the COVID pandemic began.
Two doses of the MMR vaccine prevent about 97% of infections. If someone in your house is too young for the shot or has a weak immune system, keep an eye on your state health department's outbreak page. They are the people who depend on everyone around them being protected.
US has lost measles elimination status, global health authorities say
NPR, 3 hr ago
Read the full story at NPR