As of April 17, a total of 800 confirmed measles cases had been reported by 25 states.

On Wednesday, KFF Health News released a survey showing that misinformation about measles and its vaccines was spreading rapidly across the United States, as the country was faced with the most serious outbreak of the disease in a decade.

RELATED:

As of April 17, a total of 800 confirmed measles cases had been reported by 25 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most cases are centered in West Texas, where the outbreak has already claimed the lives of two unvaccinated and otherwise healthy school-aged children. Meanwhile, an unvaccinated adult has died in New Mexico.

“The most alarming thing about the survey is that we’re seeing an uptick in the share of people who have heard these claims,” said Ashley Kirzinger, associate director of KFF’s Public Opinion and Survey Research Program.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has shown limited urgency in addressing the outbreak. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called measles outbreaks “not unusual” while failing to emphasize vaccination in his public statements.

I’m sorry but this isn’t getting enough attention.

When RFK Jr. was asked about a young child who died of measles in Texas, he responded “It's not unusual. We have measles outbreaks all the time.”

This is the first Measles death in the US in 10 years.

pic.twitter.com/AYAONYYA1c

— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) February 26, 2025

The survey also revealed stark partisan divides in awareness and beliefs about measles. About two-thirds of Republican-leaning parents were unaware of the current increase in measles cases, while two-thirds of Democratic-leaning parents were informed about the situation.

Among parents who believed at least one false claim, one in four reported skipping or delaying recommended vaccines for their children, more than double the rate of parents who rejected all the false claims. Public health experts warned that this uncertainty created dangerous vulnerability to misinformation, especially as vaccine skepticism continued rising following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite measles being declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, declining vaccination rates have allowed the disease to make a concerning comeback, potentially threatening the country’s elimination status.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) recognized Venezuela's work during the vaccination campaign against measles, rubella and polio. pic.twitter.com/6bvI2m2Jq4

— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) September 14, 2022

teleSUR/ JF Source: Xinhua

IN THIS ARTICLE