2019 might just be the worst year for measles since the disease was 'eliminated'
So, you want more proof that vaccines work?
We're just two full months into 2019, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has already seen 206 reported cases of measles. Only three of the last 20 years racked up annual totals that high, making this the worst start to a year for measles since 1992, The Washington Post reports.
Back before the vaccine became available in 1963, nearly every kid got measles before they turned 15. About 400 to 500 people would die from the disease annually, the CDC notes. Yet after making it through a few rough outbreaks in the 1990s, the CDC officially declared the disease eliminated in 2000.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Flash forward to 2014, and the CDC reported an annual total that hadn't been seen since 1994. More than half of that year's 667 cases came from a single, 383-case outbreak, which happened mostly "among unvaccinated Amish communities in Ohio," the CDC says. In fact, the CDC points out that nearly every outbreak in the last five years stemmed from unvaccinated or poorly vaccinated communities. These numbers come as misinformation continues to spread online falsely tying vaccines to autism, and as the CDC writes that vaccine refusal is on the rise.
These unusually high measles numbers for 2019 don't mean it'll be a record year overall. 2015 saw 154 cases in the first two months of the year, but only 34 in the next 10 months, the Post says.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
'Good riddance to the televised presidential debate'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Caitlin Clark the No. 1 pick in bullish WNBA Draft
Speed Read As expected, she went to the Indiana Fever
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 16, 2024
Cartoons Tuesday's cartoons - sleepyhead, little people, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published