Category: Measles
Measles remains a growing concern in Washington as U.S. surpasses 1,100 cases in 2026
Measles is highly contagious and spreads through the air when an infected person coughs, sneezes, breathes, or talks. The virus can stay in the air for up to two hours, meaning people can get infected even after a sick person has left the area.
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RFK Jr. guts the US childhood vaccine schedule despite its decades-long safety record
Major medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, have said that they will continue recommending the full complement of childhood vaccines. Several states, including California, New York, Illinois and Washington state, will follow established guidelines rather than the new federal recommendations, creating a patchwork where children’s protection depends on where they live.
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Kennedy Sharpens Vaccine Attacks, Without Scientific Backing
Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist before seeking public office, claims that aluminum adjuvants are neurotoxic and tied to autism, asthma, autoimmune disease, and food allergies. But science and medicine advances a different view
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Canada loses its official ‘measles-free’ status – and the US will follow soon, as vaccination rates fall
The resurgence of measles in Canada after decades with very low numbers of cases is not an isolated problem. The U.S. has also had large outbreaks of measles this year, and it will likely soon lose its measles-free designation as well.
The loss of measles elimination status is a symptom of a deeper issue: declining trust in public messaging about science and health, which has led to decreased vaccination rates and growing vulnerability to vaccine-preventable diseases.
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Washington Department of Health Launches Measles Exposure Map
Map shows live, real-time updates during active measles exposures
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As Measles Exploded, Officials in Texas Looked to CDC Scientists. Under Trump, No One Answered.
“CDC hasn’t reached out to us locally,” Katherine Wells, the public health director in Lubbock, Texas, wrote in a Feb. 5 email exchange with a colleague two weeks after children with measles were hospitalized in Lubbock. “My staff feels like we are out here all alone,” she added.
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Back-to-School Reminder: Keep Washington Kids Healthy with Required Immunizations
Children entering school, child care, or other early learning programs must receive certain vaccinations before they can start. These immunization requirements apply to all enrolled children, including those learning remotely.
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Measles cases are in 34 states with North Dakota now the focus
As super-contagious measles continues to spread and nears a six-year U.S. record, cases in its original epicenter of West Texas may be subsiding as hesitant residents become more concerned and willing to vaccinate, while North Dakota is a new focus with the highest rate of any state.
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The MMR vaccine doesn’t contain ‘aborted fetus debris’, as RFK Jr has claimed. Here’s the science
Despite what Kennedy would have you believe, there’s no fetal debris in the MMR vaccine, and the trace amounts of DNA fragments that may remain pose no health risk.
What the evidence does show, however, is that vaccines like the MMR vaccine offer excellent protection against deadly and preventable diseases, and have saved millions of lives around the world.
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Washington Health Officials Urge Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccines amidst national outbreak
Childhood immunization rates in Washington state have dropped since the COVID-19 pandemic, putting communities at risk for outbreaks
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Measles Misinformation Is on the Rise — And Americans Are Hearing It, Survey Finds
Republicans are far more skeptical of vaccines and twice as likely (1 in 5) as Democrats (1 in 10) to believe the measles shot is worse than the disease.
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Measles can ravage the immune system and brain, causing long-term damage – a virologist explains
Measles can wipe out immune cells’ ability to recognize pathogens. Peter Kasson, Georgia Institute of Technology The measles outbreak that
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The CDC Buried a Measles Forecast That Stressed the Need for Vaccinations
In an aborted plan to roll out the news, the agency would have emphasized the importance of vaccinating people against the highly contagious and potentially deadly disease that has spread to 19 states, the records show.
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Combatting the measles threat means examining the reasons for declining vaccination rates
The anti-vaccine literature is not anti-science. It is filled with statistics and references to scientific studies, although the facts are often wrong. Parents who read this literature need more than the simple reassurance of experts that vaccines are safe and effective. They need to be shown evidence and have confidence that their concerns are being taken seriously.
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Second measles case identified in Washington state
Measles is a highly contagious and potentially severe disease that causes fever, rash, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes. If one person has it, up to 9 out of 10 people nearby will become infected if they are not protected. It mainly spreads through the air after a person with measles coughs or sneezes.
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