Outbreaks of measles and other diseases are causing alarm in the media and public health circles, but public health critics say the risks are exaggerated.
For example, Washington Post columnist Leana Wen, M.D., former Baltimore Health Commissioner and president of Planned Parenthood, criticized Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo for his ho-hum response to the “burgeoning measles outbreak” early this year in South Florida.
“Florida surgeon general Joseph A. Ladapo has done the unthinkable,” Wen wrote. “He told parents they could defy health guidance and continue sending unvaccinated kids exposed to measles to school.”
Twenty-nine of the 338 cases new cases of measles reported from 2020 to 2024 occurred in the first quarter of this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), slightly below the average number of cases for the previous four years.
The increase in cases is putting renewed focus on compulsory measles vaccines, but critics of public health agencies say the concern is nothing but fearmongering and that completely wiping out measles is unrealistic.
‘Vaccine Is Not Great’
Measles shots are typically given in combination with inoculations for mumps and rubella (MMR). Orient says parents should be aware of the possible serious adverse effects from the vaccines. Research has not ruled out brain damage and autism from the vaccine, says Jane Orient, M.D., executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons.
“It’s possible that the rubella component, especially in combination, might be responsible,” said Orient. “Single antigen measles [vaccination] has not been tested against MMR and is no longer available. Mumps [vaccine] doesn’t work well, so why insist on the MMR combo?”
Most people recover from measles with lifetime immunity, but the disease can be serious for some groups, says Orient.
“One unfortunate consequence of mass vaccination is to shift incidence from school-age youngsters to age groups who do less well: infants and adults,” said Orient. “Measles is treatable with vitamin A and vitamin C. The vaccine is not great: it doesn’t always work, and patients get atypical measles. It wears off. Most transmission may come from vaccinated but no longer immune adults.”
Will Likely Never Be Eradicated
Most people recover from measles with lifetime immunity, says Orient, but it is unlikely it will ever be eradicated.
“Can you name a single disease that has been eradicated, other than smallpox, which took 100 years, and might have been eradicated by intense public health measures, and disappeared for centuries at various times for no known reason?” asked Orient.
“Most measles is now imported from visitors, and from the millions crossing our borders illegally—who also bring worse things like tuberculosis,” Orient said.
The Border Problem
Migration and travel are spreading diseases from other countries, says Merrill Matthews, a resident scholar with the Institute for Policy Innovation
“The source of the outbreaks appears to be from unvaccinated or under-vaccinated individuals who have traveled overseas, but also migrants who have recently come into the country,” said Matthews. “Chicago is experiencing a measles outbreak, and the cramped migrant centers appear to be a major reason.”
The open U.S. border contributes to outbreaks of exotic diseases, says Matthews.
“Many of the home countries of the migrants crossing the border have very poor health systems, and many children likely lack the basic vaccination regimen,” said Matthews. “So as long as the border is wide open, it’s entirely possible that we will see sporadic outbreaks of various diseases we have largely eradicated in the United States.”
Vaccine Skepticism
Matthews says he’s generally supportive of the long-established vaccines, including measles, that states require children to have when they enter public schools. Vaccine skepticism may have spread to all vaccines after the questionable performance of the COVID-19 shots.
“All states provide exemptions for religious and medical reasons, which is appropriate,” said Matthews. “However, the CDC recently reported that vaccine exemption rates are the highest on record: down from 95 percent vaccinated pre-pandemic to 93 percent. When you get below 95 percent on measles, you start getting outbreaks, and we’ve seen them in Philadelphia, Chicago, Florida, and other places.”
Nanny State Takes Precautions
The opportunities for scaremongering continue, says John Dale Dunn, M.D., J.D., a physician and policy advisor to The Heartland Institute, which publishes Health Care News.
“They’re marching around, saying, ‘We’ve got to do more things to be safe,’” said Dunn. “Here’s what they suffer from: it’s called the precautionary principle. It’s the thing that guides the thinking of children. Of babies. Particularly of nannies.”
“In fact, the nanny state is built on the precautionary principle, and it’s not a good approach to risk, because it tolerates no risk,” said Dunn. “In other words, if there were another case of measles, then we’d have another mass vaccination program.”
It comes down to proper public policy based on a risk versus benefit analysis, says Dunn.
“And under the circumstance, what these people are saying is, ‘Well, the hell with that; you’ve got to do everything you can, and it has to be done now because this is a risk and we can’t tolerate it,’” said Dunn. “People who can’t tolerate risk are not adults. They are still children looking for a perfect world where there are no risks.”
Kenneth Artz (KApublishing@gmx.com) writes from Tyler, Texas.