5 things to know about measles
Before there was a vaccine in 1963, measles infected millions and killed hundreds of people in the U.S. every year. Now, with the first measles death occurring in over a decade, doctors warn that declining vaccination rates are bringing the disease back, putting more people — especially children — at risk.
Here are five things to know about measles.
Measles is a highly contagious virus that can cause serious illness. One in nine people who are exposed to the measles virus will become infected if they don't have immunity through previous infection or vaccination, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Symptoms often begin one to two weeks after exposure. Early symptoms can look like other common respiratory illnesses starting with a high fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and white spots in the mouth.
Dr. Ari Brown, a pediatrician in Austin, Texas, who treated measles decades ago, warns measles 'doesn't look like measles initially, and so that's what's so scary ... this could look like flu.'
A distinct red rash typically appears three to five days later, usually starting on the face and spreading down the body.
The CDC recommends all children receive two doses of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine, with the first dose given between 12-15 months and the second dose when they reach 4-6 years old.
MORE: Measles cases are rising in the US, mainly among those who are unvaccinated: Health officials
In some circumstances, children as young as 6 months old may receive the vaccine, and a second dose can be given as soon as 28 days after the first, according to the CDC.
Dr. Lara Johnson, a pediatrician and the chief medical officer at Covenant Children's and Covenant Health in Lubbock, Texas, said people worried about their vaccination status should talk to their doctor.
'One of the messages that's really important in the context of this outbreak is, if you're behind on your vaccinations, now's a great time to get caught up,' Johnson told ABC News.
One dose of the MMR vaccine is 93% effective against measles and two doses are 97% effective, according to the CDC.
That means that 3 out of 100 vaccinated people may get sick if exposed to the virus, but these infections are usually less severe than in unvaccinated people who get sick, according to the CDC.
MORE: Texas measles outbreak grows to 124 cases, mostly among unvaccinated
Most people who were vaccinated as children won't need any additional measles vaccines. But adults who only had one measles vaccination or people who were vaccinated in the 1960s may be candidates for an additional vaccination.
Anyone unsure of their vaccination status should have a discussion with their doctor. There's no harm in getting an additional dose of the MMR vaccine. According to the CDC, people born before 1957 are immune to the virus because almost everyone at the time was infected with measles, mumps and rubella during their childhood.
Anyone living in a high-risk area should speak to their doctor about whether they need a booster, according to the CDC.
Measles in pregnancy is associated with a higher risk of miscarriage, low birth weight and preterm birth, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. However, women should not receive the MMR vaccine while they are pregnant because it is a live vaccine.
MORE: Measles cases surge worldwide, infecting 10.3 million people in 2023: WHO
If a pregnant person is exposed to measles, they should talk to their doctor as soon as possible — within six days — to know if they should receive a post-exposure prophylaxis with measles immunoglobulin (an injection of antibodies that can help reduce the severity of illness for high-risk people), according to the CDC.
Measles can cause complications like pneumonia, brain swelling, long-term hearing loss and death — as is the case in the current Texas outbreak.
In the decade before the measles vaccine, the CDC estimates 3 to 4 million people were infected and 400 to 400 people died from the virus every year in the United States.
Other long-term complications include subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), a rare but fatal complication that can develop seven to ten years after recovery. SSPE causes a gradual loss of mental abilities, which progresses to a vegetative state and eventually leads to death, according to the National Institutes of Health.
There is no specific treatment for measles, so doctors say the best way to prevent complications of measles is to get vaccinated.
'The vaccine is so effective,' Dr. Summer Davies, a pediatrician currently treating hospitalized patients at Texas Tech University Health Science Center and Covenant Children's, told ABC News.
Davies said the best way to protect yourself, your children and your community is to get the vaccine, even 'if you're not worried yourself about getting it.'
This is not just like any other virus, Davies said.
'Some people think, 'Oh, this is just a virus like the flu. I'll get it, maybe get a fever and rash and get over it,'' Davies said. 'But it can be really severe, as we have seen here.'
Johnson said that measles is not just an issue from the past, but something that could progress in the future without proper vaccinations.
'[Measles] seems like something from the past,' Johnson said. 'But if we don't continue to vaccinate and do things that we did in order to make these illnesses of the past, then they'll be illnesses of the present.'
-Dr. Amanda Hargett-Granato and Jade A Cobern contributed to this report. Hargett-Granato is a pediatric resident at Mayo Clinic and member of the ABC News Medical Unit. Cobern, MD, MPH, board-certified in pediatrics and general preventive medicine, is a medical fellow of the ABC News Medical Unit.
5 things to know about measles originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Kennedy names new members of CDC vaccine advisory panel days after removing previous advisers
Just two days after retiring the entirety of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's vaccine advisory panel, US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has appointed several prominent critics of the government's Covid-19 response to that committee. He announced eight new members of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, on Wednesday. Kennedy had said Monday that the previous 17-member panel that makes recommendations on who should get vaccines and when was rife with conflicts of interest and that he would appoint new 'highly credentialed' experts in time for the panel's June 25 meeting, at which the members are expected to discuss guidance for Covid-19 and HPV shots, among others. In a statement Wednesday, Kennedy said the reassembled panel will demand 'definitive safety and efficacy data before making any new vaccine recommendations, but will also review data for the current vaccine schedule as well.' The eight new ACIP members include Dr. Robert Malone, a biochemist who made early innovations in the field of messenger RNA but in more recent years has been a vocal critic of mRNA technology in Covid-19 vaccines. The CDC recently narrowed its recommendations for mRNA Covid-19 shots, but some advocates in the Make America Healthy Again space have pressed Kennedy to go further and bar the vaccines entirely. Another new member is Dr. Martin Kulldorff, a biostatistician and epidemiologist who co-authored an October 2020 strategy on herd immunity known as the Great Barrington Declaration with Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, now director of the US National Institutes of Health. Both Malone's and Kulldorff's names were circulated early in the second Trump administration as potential advisers on ACIP or other panels, according to a person familiar with the process who requested anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak with CNN. Kennedy also chose Dr. James Pagano, an emergency medicine physician he described as a 'strong advocate for evidence-based medicine' who has served on hospital committees and medical executive boards. Dr. Retsef Levi, an MIT professor who has published studies on mRNA vaccines and cardiovascular events, is also joining the panel. Levi is a professor of operations management. Several of the new members have served in federal health agencies previously, including Dr. Joseph Hibbeln, a former acting chief of the NIH's section on nutritional neurosciences. Dr. Cody Meissner, a Dartmouth professor of pediatrics who also signed the Great Barrington Declaration, has previously served on ACIP and on the US Food and Drug Administration's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. Dr. Vicky Pebsworth, the Pacific region director of the National Association of Catholic Nurses, also served on the FDA committee and on a national panel reviewing the 2009 H1N1 swine flu vaccine. Dr. Michael Ross, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at George Washington University and Virginia Commonwealth University, has previously served on the CDC's Advisory Committee for the Prevention of Breast and Cervical Cancer. Kennedy also nodded in his statement to Ross' 'continued service on biotech and healthcare boards.' The private equity company Havencrest, in which Ross is an operating partner, describes him on its site as a 'serial CEO' who has served on the boards of several biotechnology companies.
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Opinion: Budget bill's Medicaid cuts hurt all Utahns
One Big Beautiful Bill, or One Big Budget Bust? This one act of legislation will affect everyone, not just those on Medicaid. Even if you don't think cuts to Medicaid will affect you, they will, and not in a good way. This legislation will ultimately decrease the health of Utahns, inadvertently increase the cost of healthcare and increase wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars. The 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' includes provisions that slash Medicaid coverage through the guise of work/education requirements. While this may sound like a great way to increase accountability for Medicaid enrollees, this is costly to states and is confusing for enrollees. When Arkansas implemented Medicaid work and reporting requirements in 2018, enrollees reported both confusion and misunderstanding about what was required. Due to these requirements, 18,000 individuals, or 25% of enrollees, lost their insurance coverage. Researchers in 2020 looked at the impact of Arkansas' program and found that the loss of coverage led to poorer medication adherence, delays in receiving care and increased medical debt. In 2019, the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) — a federal office that provides fact-based, non-partisan information used to improve government spending and save taxpayers billions of dollars — estimated that state expansion of Medicaid work/education requirements would cost anywhere from under $10 million to over $250 million just on administrative costs. Accounting for inflation, this alone can cost Utah anywhere from about $13 million to $310 million just to set up this program. While this cost may be partially covered by the federal government, this has proven to be a waste of government spending. In one year of Georgia's implementation of a similar program, their own state Medicaid agency reported that it cost both state and federal taxpayers a combination of $40 million, with 80% of it going towards administrative costs rather than medical care. If implemented in our state, which prides itself on being fiscally responsible, removing red tape and deregulation, adding additional work/education requirements goes against these core beliefs. Hidden in the 'Big Beautiful Bill' are provisions to cut Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Programs by $3.5 billion, claiming this work 'can be conducted [and funded] more effectively by States,' according to the Fiscal Year 2026 budget request. States would need to develop programs and funding for employees to assist in this goal of shifting from the federal focus to state focus at the taxpayers' expense. Additionally, the budget includes provisions that block federal funding for preventive care at facilities offering family planning, reproductive health and related medical services. By blocking funding to these facilities, the healthcare system will shift from prevention to crisis response. Important public health research is also on the 'Big Beautiful Bill' chopping block. As the president proposes almost $18 billion in cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) — the United States' medical research arm — projects will lose ground and become stagnant. You may be asking yourself, why does this matter to me? What if I have commercial insurance? Why should I care about research? The damaging effects of these budget cuts touch every aspect of society, creating a domino effect. These policies don't operate in isolation — they compound each other, ultimately raising costs, lowering care quality and destabilizing institutions relied upon by people across the income spectrum. Millions will lose access to primary, routine and preventive care. Conditions will go undetected and unmanaged, especially among children, women and people with chronic illnesses. Hospitals — especially children's hospitals and safety-net facilities — will absorb more unpaid care. This reduces operating margins and strains staff and resources. Hospitals will increase charges to private insurers to recoup losses. This drives up insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs for middle-income families and employers. Fewer pediatricians, OB/GYNs and community health providers will stay in underfunded or unstable systems. Burnout and turnover will rise, especially in high-need communities. Biomedical research will come to a standstill, jeopardizing our ability to find new cures for debilitating diseases like cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer's. These cuts harm the entire healthcare system, threatening access, affordability and quality of care for everyone, regardless of insurance status. Protect your health by contacting your senators and telling them to block this One Big Budget Bust.
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
CDC rehires 450 employees cut in HHS restructuring, internal documents show
The government on Wednesday hired back more than 450 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees that were fired as part of the widespread restructuring that took place in April at the Department of Health and Human Services, internal documents shared with ABC News show. Among the branches that were reinstated was the National Center for Environmental Health, which oversees a lead prevention program for children across the country that ABC News has reported on extensively and asked HHS Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr about directly. The cuts to the branch had left more than a half dozen schools in Milwaukee without federal assistance as they dealt with hazardous levels of lead in their building. MORE: Milwaukee struggles through growing lead crisis -- with federal help nowhere to be found More than 120 people were rehired to the CDC division, which also monitors other environmental toxins, including wildfire smoke and radiation exposure. "It's like Dunkirk when many civilian hands helped save the army. Glad to be on the other side," NCEH Division Director Erik Svendsen told ABC News after finding out. It's unclear what prompted the employees to be rehired. In the original cuts HHS announced in late March, the CDC's workforce decreased by approximately 2,400 employees. Officials have previously said any rehiring would come with additional firings to even out the numbers. Lawsuits against HHS's rampant firing, which impacted around 10,000 employees across the CDC, Food and Drug Administration and National Institutes of Health, continue to play out. In a statement on Wednesday confirming the reinstatements, an HHS spokesperson said, "Under Secretary Kennedy's leadership, the nation's critical public health functions remain intact and effective." MORE: RFK Jr. announces HHS reinstating some programs, employees cut by mistake "The Trump Administration is committed to protecting essential services -- whether it's supporting coal miners and firefighters through NIOSH, safeguarding public health through lead prevention, or researching and tracking the most prevalent communicable diseases," the spokesperson said, listing programs that were cut and then later reinstated after public and political pressure to do so. The chaotic dismissal of experts across the agency has prompted outcry from the science community and questions from a number of Republicans, especially as their states were impacted by cut programs. Programs like the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which monitors coal mine safety, saw reinstatements. Other branches reinstated Wednesday include the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention, which works to track and prevent infectious diseases that affect millions of Americans and cause tens of thousands of deaths annually. The CDC's global health division, which has foreign offices in about 60 countries to monitor for health or security threats overseas, is also set to regain about two dozen employees. CDC rehires 450 employees cut in HHS restructuring, internal documents show originally appeared on