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Will We Make America Sick Again?

Measles was eliminated in the US 25 years ago, but that historic public health status is threatened by an uptick in cases and a new administration’s potential to reverse vaccination rules

Emmi S. Herman
Wise & Well

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Twenty-five years ago, the Y2K bug caused world-wide panic over its computer systems. It was destined to crash programs that could only handle two-digit years and confuse the year 2000 with the year 1900. Fortunately, that big, bad bug never did spread.

Another bad “bug” made good news in 2000 when the deadly measles virus was officially eliminated from the US. It was a historic public health announcement that took nearly four decades to achieve since the introduction of the measles vaccine in 1963. Vaccines rev up the antibodies to help you fight infection and keep others around you safe.

But elimination status isn’t permanent.

Unlike eradication — when an infectious disease is not found or transmitted anywhere in the world, like smallpox — elimination is declared when an infectious disease, such as measles, is no longer found or transmitted within a geographic area for 12 months or greater. Cases and outbreaks still exist, carried by people who travel internationally or live among unvaccinated or…

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