Confronting the return of measles and vaccine misinformation

Infectious disease physician Janet A. Jokela discusses her article, "Measles is back: Why vaccination is more vital than ever." Recounting her own experience diagnosing a case in the 1990s, Janet contrasts that contained incident with the current crisis in 2025, which has seen over 1000 cases and the first pediatric deaths in the U.S. in 22 years. The conversation covers the critical 95 percent vaccination rate required for herd immunity, a threshold the country is falling below, and explains why measles is one of the most contagious diseases known. Janet dismantles dangerous misinformation about the MMR vaccine and ineffective alternative treatments, emphasizing that the vaccine is 97 percent effective and has saved millions of lives. For listeners, the key takeaways are to understand the severe, and sometimes fatal, complications of measles—such as pneumonia and encephalitis—and to recognize that the benefits of the MMR vaccine far outweigh any risks.

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