Millions of Measles Cases Could Hit U.S. Over Next 25 Years If Vaccination Rates Drop

The U.S. could see tens of millions of measles cases over the next 25 years if vaccination rates fall, according to research published Thursday by JAMA. And that’s bad news for a country where vaccine deniers have infiltrated the highest levels of government and too much of the population remains absolutely clueless about the danger of measles. A team of researchers at Stanford University produced a simulation model that looked at how declining vaccination rates in the U.S. would impact measles, rubella, poliomyelitis, and diphtheria. In a particularly awful scenario, the model found that a 50% drop in childhood vaccinations would result in 51.2 million measles cases over a 25-year period. That same period would see 9.9 million cases of rubella, 4.3 million cases of poliomyelitis, and 197 cases of diphtheria. All of that awfulness would result in 10.3 million hospitalizations and 159,200 deaths, according to the model. A 50% drop in childhood vaccinations would obviously be terrible ... Read full article.