With declining vaccination rates, new cases of measles, and the arrival of a vaccine skeptic at the head of the Ministry of Health, health professionals in the United States are alarmed by a " disaster announced"Since the beginning of the year, 90 cases of measles have been reported in Texas, around ten in the neighboring state of New Mexico and a handful of others across the country, raising fears of a resurgence of this serious contagious disease, which has been almost eradicated thanks to vaccination.
“ Measles is the warning sign " of a coming crisis," pediatric infectious disease specialist Paul Offit told AFP, pointing to the decline in vaccination rates since the Covid-19 pandemic. Amid growing distrust of health authorities and pharmaceutical companies, more and more parents are deciding not to vaccinate their children.
The proportion of preschool children vaccinated against measles—a mandatory requirement—has fallen nationally from 95% in 2019 to less than 93% in 2023, with significant regional variations. In Idaho, it has fallen below 80%. This trend could worsen under the new Secretary of Health, Robert Kennedy Jr., who has repeatedly questioned the safety of vaccines and spread misinformation about them, experts warn.
With the result that diseases that had previously disappeared or almost disappeared are returning. It's a disaster waiting to happen", thunders Paul Offit.
"Religious exemption"
“ It's already happening. Our immunization rates are already low enough that vulnerable children are contracting these diseases.", notes Jennifer Herricks, a scientist with a Louisiana association that promotes vaccination. In that state, cases of whooping cough have recently been recorded, causing the death of two children, according to local media. As for measles, experts point to the responsibility of vaccine exemptions.
In much of the country, parents can cite a reason other than a medical contraindication to avoid mandatory vaccination for their children. Many states have a " religious exemption", others of a clause " philosophical", or both. In Texas, the second most populous state in the country, " you can simply say you disagree" explains Terri Burke of the Immunization Partnership.
Most of the 90 measles cases reported in Texas this year have been in a county with a large population of ultraconservative Mennonites, a similar pattern to the 2019 outbreak in Orthodox Jewish communities in New York and New Jersey, which saw more than 1,100 cases.
Growing politicization
While the reasons behind these exemptions may vary, including religious belief, fear of side effects, distrust, or difficulty in accessing a doctor, there is a trend linked to the " pandemic backlash " of Covid-19, says Richard Hughes, a public health policy specialist at George Washington University.
The population is " frustrated with the government's overall response", from contradictory messages on masks to vaccination requirements, he notes. Perhaps we would have been better off continuing to encourage people to get vaccinated rather than forcing them to do so.". A frustration exacerbated by the numerous false information relayed on social networks.
At the same time, fear of infectious diseases has faded among the population, according to Paul Offit. We've erased the memory of measles. People don't realize how sick and deadly this virus can be.", he points out. Before the development of a vaccine in the early 1960s, the United States recorded between 3 and 4 million cases per year, and between 400 and 500 associated deaths.
But beyond these factors, the growing politicization of vaccination is also being singled out. Across the country, elected officials are introducing a series of bills to bury local vaccination requirements, ban certain types of vaccines, or facilitate the use of exemptions. There are now more than twice as many laws on the subject as there were before the pandemic, says Jennifer Herricks, who is involved in national monitoring.
This has resulted, for example, in the cessation of vaccination statistics in Montana and the end of vaccine promotion in Louisiana. These are all signs of a shift in the importance given to vaccination, which until now was considered the cornerstone of health policies. This is a harbinger of what we are beginning to see and are about to see at the federal level, with Robert Kennedy Jr." warns Mr. Hughes.
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