Just a few years ago, the United States almost had measles eradicated. But now the disease is making a huge comeback. The number of cases as of July is 1,148 cases, and it looks like that number could exceed the 1992 total of 2,126 before the end of the year.
This did not have to happen. It is solely caused the the anti-vaxxers, who are passing along misinformation about vaccinations. They want Americans to believe that vaccinations are dangerous, and can cause autism. That is not true, and their claims are based on one British study that has been debunked repeatedly.
The measles vaccine is remarkably effective. But if the number of people refusing to vaccinate their children (because of the bad science they have been shown) continues to grow, we could return to the bad old days when measles hospitalized 48,000 each year and killed 400-500 people.
