More than 90 million lives have been saved since the advent of the measles vaccine in 1963. Most of them were children.
Before the vaccine, nearly every child in the U.S. contracted measles by the time they reached age 15. Approximately 500 died every year.
Thousands more were hospitalized, suffering from pneumonia, encephalitis (brain swelling), ear infections, severe diarrhea, and"immune amnesia,” in which the measles attacked and destroyed long-term memory cells, leaving survivors vulnerable to other infectious diseases for years afterward.
As a result of the vaccine, the United States declared measles eliminated in 2000. This is universally regarded as one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century.
Since then, the CDC and WHO estimate that measles vaccinations have prevented more than 60 million deaths.
Now, thanks to the anti-vax movement, measles is making a comeback.
The vast majority of news cases in 2025 have been in Texas, beginning with a major outbreak in Gaines County, West Texas, a deeply conservative anti-vax stronghold.
One vocal Gaines County vaccine opponent, Peter Hildebrand, was even featured in an anti-vax video claiming that “measles are good for the body”. His 8-year-old daughter, Daisy, subsequently came down with the disease and died.
When Daisy became ill, the Hildebrands treated her with cod liver oil. After her death, they blamed the medical establishment for being prejudiced against their Mennonite faith.
The video in which Peter Hildebrand called the measles “good” was produced by the Children's Health Defense (CHD), an anti-vaccine organization founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who now serves as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and has repeatedly suggested an unproven and widely debunked link between the measles vaccine and autism.
Following Daisy Hildebrand’s death, Kennedy visited the family to offer his condolences.
Florida First in the Nation to End Mandatory Vaccines for Public Schools
Even though Florida has experienced alarming measles outbreaks this year, the state’s Surgeon General, Joseph Ladapo, announced last week that all vaccine mandates will be ended, including those for public schools. Ladapo claims the mandates are "wrong" and "drip with disdain and slavery”.
During the pandemic, Ladapo opposed the COVID vaccine while promoting quack treatments as potential cures.
The MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, and rubella) is still required for public school attendance in the other 49 states, but anti-vax groups across the nation continue to wage court battles against this mandate.
Other “Red States” may well follow Florida’s lead in banning mandatory vaccinations, despite more than 80% of parents nationwide supporting the requirement of measles and polio vaccines for public schools.
This includes a majority of Republican and MAGA-identifying parents, and the majority of parents in Florida.
Postscript:
HHS Secretary RFK Jr promised back in April that he would definitively reveal the causes of autism and how to eliminate it by September.
No such announcements yet, but Kennedy is now reportedly in regular touch with a fringe researcher who has long sought, unsuccessfully, to link Tylenol (acetaminophen) with autism.
Got headaches?
Resources:
UPDATE: 7th Case of Measles Reported at Florida Elementary School ~ Campus Safety Magazine
Texas Dad Doesn't Regret Not Vaccinating Daughter After She Dies of Measles ~ Newsweek
Measles Is Making a Comeback: Can We Stop It? ~ Harvard Health
Measles Vaccines Save Millions Of Lives Each Year ~ Our World in Data
Florida Plans to End All Vaccine Mandates ~ Pulmonary Advisor
RFK Jr.’s Calls With a Scientist Who Says Kids Get Autism From Tylenol ~ The Atlantic
Is Medical Science on Its Deathbed? ~ Perspectives