Vaccination provides long-lasting 97% protection against measles infection. Most people who have been vaccinated do not need to be vaccinated again.

The U.S. registered its first death from measles since 2015 this week, as a child who wasn’t vaccinated died in a measles outbreak in rural West Texas. Normally, most U.S.

Texas reported the first measles death Feb. 26, in an unvaccinated school-aged child, related to an ongoing outbreak in

The group is part of a larger, loosely affiliated group of churches with varied beliefs and leadership structures — and with sometimes strained relations with authorities.

Measles is a highly contagious virus that can lead to pneumonia, brain swelling and even death. Due to mass vaccinations, measles has become rare.

Health officials aim to improve public understanding of the importance of measles vaccinations and, for some, potentially the need for a booster shot.

In 2000, 287 years later, measles was declared eradicated by the World Health Organization due to the success of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine. Just 25 years later we have an outbreak of measles in this country directly related to rampant misinformation and a decrease in vaccination rates.

According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 10.3 million people were infected with measles in 2023.

Some educators could have received their measles shots during a five-year span when an ineffective version was given.

The surgeon general said vaccines are available for parents who want them and recommended Vitamin A as an option.

Many readers expressed outrage about the measles outbreak that began in an under-vaccinated community in rural West Texas, as I described in my column this week. The outbreak has infected more than 120 people there and in neighboring New Mexico and already led to the death of one child.