| The World Health Organization (WHO) reported Thursday four European countries have lost their measles-free status.
The U.S. could be next.
More and more Americans are refusing to vaccinate their children for religious, philosophical, even political reasons, leading to measles outbreaks across the country. The first began last September.
Measles vaccine has been attacked on social media websites as causing other diseases, with no scientific evidence.
“It isnât as if we donât have the tools to completely eliminate measles, we do. Weâre not utilizing them, and the reason of that varies from region to region and country to country,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. “Itâs very frustrating for me, as a public health official and a scientist, and for my colleagues who over the years have worked to control this terrible disease.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported more than 1,200 measles cases so far this year, which is three times more than all of 2018 and the highest number of cases since the WHO declared the U.S. had eliminated the measles nearly 20 years ago.
With many kids heading back to school after Labor Day, infectious disease experts, like Fauci, worry the cases will continue to increase after a somewhat steady summer.
Members of Congress are calling on parents to vaccinate their children during this back-to-school time.
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-TN, said in a statement, “After five decades of vaccination implementation and nearly two decades of eradication, misguided anti-vax trends threaten to reverse this progress and put our young ones in danger.”
“To all Tennessee parents â as your children head back to school, please speak with your childâs doctor about implementing a safe and health-conscious vaccination schedule,” Blackburn continued.
Fauci argues not vaccinating students also puts other vulnerable groups at risk, like infants and cancer patients.
“Itâs our societal responsibility to protect those people,” he said. “When a parent says, ’I donât want my child to be vaccinated, I have no responsibility to anybody, my child will be fine,â theyâre wrong on two accounts. Their child is vulnerable if the child doesnât get vaccinated, and theyâre relinquishing their responsibility to society.”
| 
