World may be 'post-herd immunity' to measles, top US scientist says

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Guardian

Sat 3 May 2025 07.00 EDT
Last modified on Sat 3 May 2025 07.01 EDT


A leading immunologist warned of a “post-herd-immunity world”, as measles outbreaks affect communities with low vaccination rates in the American south-west, Mexico and Canada. The US is enduring the largest measles outbreak in a quarter-century. Centered in west Texas, the measles outbreak has killed two unvaccinated children and one adult and spread to neighboring states including New Mexico and Oklahoma.

“We’re living in a post-herd-immunity world. I think the measles outbreak proves that,” said Dr Paul Offit, an expert on infectious disease and immunology and director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “Measles – because it is the most contagious of the vaccine-preventable diseases, the most contagious human disease really – it is the first to come back.”

The US eliminated measles in 2000. Elimination status would be lost if the US had 12 months of sustained transmission of the virus. As of 1 May, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 935 confirmed measles cases across 30 jurisdictions. Nearly one in three children under five years old involved in the outbreak, or 285 young children, have been hospitalized.

Three large outbreaks in Canada, Mexico and the US now account for the overwhelming majority of roughly 2,300 measles cases across the World Health Organization’s six-country Americas region, according to the health authority’s update this week. Risk of measles is considered high in the Americas, and has grown 11-fold compared with 2024.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/03/measles-post-herd-immunity

[bucolic_frolic]

1. I read measles wipes out other immunities built up over the years

whether from vaccinations or natural infection.

I queried my pharmacist who was quite surprised by the question. Advised me to contact insurer and if all was go to call a few days ahead because they do not stock it.

[BumRushDaShow]

2. When I got my RSV shot in March

I asked my local pharmacy about the MMR shot (which they did have on the premises), but the pharmacist guy who does the immunizations was a bit flummoxed at my query. I told him that I actually got one of the earliest Measles shots back in the early '60s and then caught the Mumps in the late '60s just before that vaccine came out, and finally got the separate Rubella shot right when it became available in the late '60s. There have been some reports that the early Measles shot (which would have been the "inactive" one) was not as effective as the newer "live attenuated" ones that came out post-1967. Thus there were recommendations to at least get some kind of "booster" (at least for the Measles part, meaning going on and getting the MMR). As it is, I have also seen reports of a few "breakthrough" infections by those who were vaccinated and exposed to Measles in this latest outbreak (although the cases were obviously very mild).

[BComplex]

6. I had my annual physical in April, and my family Dr. gave me the MMR vaccine. Told me he'd test me for Tuberculosis

any time I have any respiratory problems, if I'm worrired about it (we're seeing tuberculosis in N.C.).
He hates trump and believes, like me, that for generations republicans have always been against everything he believes in:
equal rights for all humans (and animal rights)
education
environmental protection
freedom FROM religion
abortion on demand
social security
medicare
medicaid
taxation of the rich
Obamacare
etc.
He's my favorite doctor in the world.

[BumRushDaShow]

9. I still have my little infant and pediatric immunization records books

and there had to have been a million "Tine tests" in there!

I can't remember the last time I had one recently (I guess elementary school), but it seems TB is surging again.

[BComplex]

13. I don't think my mom even kept ours!

That's pretty good that you've got yours!

[BumRushDaShow]

14. My mom kept them for me and my sisters in a folder in her file cabinet

and then eventually handed them over to us.

Much of the more recent stuff is electronic now although I do have one of those yellow WHO Immunization booklets with my passport that looks like this -



Needed that when I went to Egypt and got vaccines for yellow fever & typhoid, and boosters for DPT and polio.

[BComplex]

15. And those vaccinations very likely protected you and your family from getting any of those

diseases! I will never understand the superstitions behind the anti-vaxxers' refusal to protect themselves. My sister is anti-vax, and it's all because someone said that someone said....that someone said.... 2nd 3rd and 4th-hand stories about how some mother noticed her child suddenly developed autism in the back seat on the way home from getting vaxxed.

[mopinko]

3. it's made it all the way to cook co, il.

[ALBliberal]

4. Gotta a two month old granddaughter smack

dab in Southwest USA (Albuquerque NM).

I am terrified. No vax for four more months.

Things I never worried about when my kids were little.

Thanks MAGA!

[snot]

12. If it's any comfort,

I was a kid before there were vaccines for measles or mumps, and got both, and survived them.

But I once woke up in the middle of the night in a tub full of cold water and ice cubes, as my parents worked to bring down the fever.

[Warpy]

5. I was careful to move to a state with vaccination laws with real teeth in them

I don't have measurable measles antibodies, not after the disease almost killed me as a kid and not after repeated MMR vaccinations. An unvaccinated kid is like a loaded gun aimed right at me.

(at least it kept me from being assigned to pediatrics too often)

During the last outbreak, NM was surrounded by states with significant numbers of people down with the disease, but our number of cases remained zero. I hope it's the same this time.

[IbogaProject]

8. Ugh it is in NM

A leading immunologist warned of a “post-herd-immunity world”, as measles outbreaks affect communities with low vaccination rates in the American south-west, Mexico and Canada. The US is enduring the largest measles outbreak in a quarter-century. Centered in west Texas, the measles outbreak has killed two unvaccinated children and one adult and spread to neighboring states including New Mexico and Oklahoma.

I feel for you, only shot I've skipped ever have been influenza. I am in the Novavax COVID-Flu combo clinical trial, w very few placebo cohorts, and the single shot ones are small too. They are mostly fine tuning the formula during this trial with different levels of the adjuvidcant.

[Warpy]

10. Yeah, I knew it would wander in with some tourist

KRQE mentions one case in Dona Ana County.

[OverBurn]

7. I'm gonna check into getting a re-vaccination. I was born in 65, I read people in that age range had ineffective shots.

[Unwind Your Mind]

16. I've been paying attention to this

Because my husband was born in “61. The better vaccines started in “67 so you probably had that one when you started school.

Eta. Some of his peers remember that it was known at the time that the earlier vaccine was less effective and they were given the live one later

Regardless, I do think those of us who are older but never had the disease should get a booster. We are far enough away that we haven’t done it yet. But it’s on my to do list.

[IronLionZion]

11. MAGA is making preventable deaths great again

Measles was eliminated from the US before these antivaxxer a-holes brought it back.