this post was submitted on 30 Mar 2026

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US measles cases just climbed to over 1,500, with surges in three states (www.independent.co.uk)

submitted 2 days ago by dude@lemmings.world to c/news@lemmings.world

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[–] Crackhappy@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

This is terrible. I wish that there were some easy cheap way to ameleriote this problem. But alas. There is none.

[–] U7826391786239@piefed.zip 26 points 2 days ago (1 children)

they talk about "lower vaccination rates," but not a single mention about how antivaxxers are 100% completely to blame for all of it.

the party of "protect the children" votes for pedophile child rapists and then refuses vaccines for their own kids.

republicans are so fucking stupid

[+] aramis87@fedia.io -9 points 2 days ago (5 children)

antivaxxers are 100% completely to blame for all of it.

Incorrect. The vaccine doesn't work on everyone, just almost everyone. Plus, a huge number of people believe that they're immune when they're not [see below]. Combine that with the fact that you can spread measles up to four days before any symptoms show, and that in a naive population, each person with measles will infect 14 other people, and one infection can escalate rapidly.

[Below]:

If you were born before 1957, you are presumed immune because measles was so prevalent.
If you were vaccinated before 1967, you should get a booster shot (the original vaccine wasn't as effective as the later vaccine).
If you were vaccinated between 1967 and 1989, you should consider a booster shot (they thought you only needed one shot for full efficacy, but you really need two).
If you were fully vaccinated after 1989, you are believed immune.

[–] Enkrod@feddit.org 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

The smallpox vaccine was only 95% effective, we still managed to get rid of that virus because enough people got vaccinated that it could not find enough vectors to remain alive.

The resurgence of measles in the US is absolutely because the herd immunity is failing with not enough people vaccinated.

[–] aramis87@fedia.io -1 points 1 day ago

Smallpox has an r0 of 3: in a completely naive population, each person with the disease will infect 3 other people. If 80% of the population is immune, the disease should eventually die out.

Polio has an r0 of about 6, and needs about 80-85% of the population to be immune to prevent it's spread. [There's a whole debate about the use of IPV vs OPV in the struggle to eliminate polio, which is interesting if you want to delve into it.]

Measles is among the most contagious diseases we've ever encountered; it has an r0 of about 14. To get measles to die out, you need a minimum 95% immunity rate. 3% of the people who get vaccinated for measles will never develop sufficient immune response to the vaccine and will still be able to catch and spread the disease. That leaves a razor-thin 2% leeway before herd immunity starts to fail. And there's way more than 2% of the US population in the '57-'67 and '67-'89 cohorts who haven't gotten a booster to make herd immunity problematic.

Do anti-vax communities provide vectors for the introduction of measles? Absolutely; the have been many outbreaks among the extreme Orthodox Jewish communities in New York and Northern New Jersey City that exact reason; and the current big outbreaks originated with old school Mennonites in the Southwest.

Does the decrease in vaccination rates enable measles to spread much more rapidly and easily than before? Absolutely!

But the reason measles is spreading in the US has multiple causes: its incredible contagiousness, the decrease in herd immunity, a lack of funding for public health campaigns; the rise of cellphones and scammers/spammers; the absolute gutting of the public health infrastructure; and other elements that I'm not currently thinking of. Reducing the issue to "antivaxxers bad" minimizes other contributing factors.

I'm heavily pro-vaccine and I'm not defending antivaxxers; I'm just seeing this as a more complex issue than other people seem to.

[–] MedicPigBabySaver@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

STFU

[–] U7826391786239@piefed.zip 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

ok, i stand corrected.

so send us some links explaining this recent explosion of measles then, that doesn't involve antivaxxers

[–] aramis87@fedia.io 0 points 1 day ago (3 children)

As I said, the vaccine doesn't work for everyone. Even the CDC notes

One dose of MMR vaccine is 93% effective against measles [...] Two doses of MMR vaccine are 97% effective against measles

Meaning that, even in the best case, 3% of the population is vulnerable. Add in the vast number of 1957-1989 adults who have not gotten a booster, and you easily fall below the 95% threshold to needed to keep measles in check.

[–] AdolfSchmitler@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Are you saying a measles outbreak would still have happened without the anti-vax crowd? Or that the rise of anti-vax sentiment didn't contribute to the current outbreak? I don't know why you keep saying the vaccine is only 95% effective, nobody is claiming it's 100%....

I don't know how anyone can look at the rise of anti-vax, and the current outbreak of a previously well-managed disease, and not think the two are at least somewhat related unless they themselves are anti-vax..

[–] aramis87@fedia.io 2 points 1 day ago

I'm saying that measles outbreaks are nothing new.

And I'm pointing out the 97% effectiveness of the vaccine, because that's hideously close to the 95% immunity level needed for herd immunity. And the 95% matters because even if there were no antivaxxers in the country, we still wouldn't have herd immunity, because:

There is a significant percentage of people who believe they were vaccinated, but who are actually undervaxxed: anyone in the '57-'67 cohort who didn't get a booster as an adult is undervaxxed, and people in the '67-89 cohort who didn't get a booster are very likely undervaxxed. And once you combine the people who are undervaxxed with the people for whom the vaccine didn't work, we're past the 95% herd immunity threshold.

Prior outbreaks were held in check by a lot of work and outreach by public health workers, and those workers have been defunded.

Are antivaxxers contributing to the current outbreak? Absolutely! But that's not the only factor involved.

[–] starik@lemmy.zip 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Anti-vaxxers are 100% responsible for the loss of herd immunity against measles in the US.

[–] searabbit@piefed.social 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I think this is a good call out to either get your immunity tested or just get the booster. I have a good primary doctor who routinely gets her new adult patients tested for immunity to the common diseases vaccinated against in childhood, and I tested negative for measles. I would've had no idea that I lost immunity and needed a booster otherwise.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago

The point is, the more people vaccinated, the less we have to worry about the 3%. And even for the 3%, the disease is attenuated.

[–] ApathyTree@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 day ago

I got measles as a kid in the 80s before I was old enough to get the jab, and I’ve been vaccinated against it three times (one as a kid for school, and two as an adult due to lost records)

If I’m not immune at this point… it’s probably because of Covid.

[–] Itsamelemmy@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 day ago

There have been a handful of breakthrough infections this year. While 92 percent of the nation’s measles cases were unvaccinated or their vaccination status was unknown, four percent were fully vaccinated, the agency’s data shows.

4% vaccinated infection. If it wasn't for the 92% of anti-vaxers getting it, I'm pretty sure none of the vaccinated would have either. So even with the potential less effective dose for people like myself that according to your dates only got one shot, infections would still be pretty much non existent if not for anti-vax.

[–] jtrek@startrek.website 12 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Utah, Florida, and Texas are all conservative places I would never want to live. This can be another reason why.

[–] standarduser@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 days ago

Checks out but terrifying living near those areas. Glad I was vaccinated but I still don’t want to risk catching

[–] altphoto@lemmy.today 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The executive, the judgemental and one other branch. That's right, we have three breaches of government.

[–] altphoto@lemmy.today 2 points 1 day ago

Ah OK... Utah, Florida, and Texas. Yup pretty much what I was expecting.

[–] switcheroo@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Without reading the article, lemme guess... red shithole states?

They're getting what they voted for, I suppose. Enjoy your unnecessary deaths?

[–] Drusas@fedia.io 5 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Surging in Texas, Florida, and Utah. So, some of the places you would most expect.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago

But Utah has magic underwear

[–] ArmoredThirteen@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Once again Idaho is lagging behind. Rest assured though when they see everyone else having fun they're going to yell hold my beer while nosediving down a staircase

[–] Drusas@fedia.io 1 points 1 day ago

As a Washingtonian, I believe in you.

[–] hovercat@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 day ago

The problem is that you have people who're snowbirds from Florida who bring the plague with them to places like Michigan and other northern states.