{"id":880264,"date":"2025-12-24T01:13:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T07:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/24\/outbreaks-expose-gaps-in-us-vaccination-coverage\/"},"modified":"2025-12-24T01:13:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T07:13:08","slug":"outbreaks-expose-gaps-in-us-vaccination-coverage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/24\/outbreaks-expose-gaps-in-us-vaccination-coverage\/","title":{"rendered":"Outbreaks expose gaps in US vaccination coverage"},"content":{"rendered":"<article id=\"post-880820\" data-post-id=\"880820\">\n<section>\n<h2>Public health experts warn that anti-vax advocacy contributes to preventable measles outbreaks in US communities<\/h2>\n<div>\n<p><h3>\n                    <span>Published<\/span><br \/>\n                    <time datetime=\"2025-12-20T14:15:48-05:00\"><br \/>\n                        December 20, 2025 2:15PM (EST)                    <\/time><br \/>\n                <\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div>\n<p><img width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" src=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/app\/uploads\/2025\/12\/GettyImages-2209442815.jpg\" alt=\"Measles outbreaks continue nationwide as more people grow cautious of childhood vaccination schedules, taking the lead set by anti-vax officials like HHS Secretary Kennedy. (Brandon Bell \/ Getty Images)\"  decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" >    <\/p>\n<p>\n            Measles outbreaks continue nationwide as more people grow cautious of childhood vaccination schedules, taking the lead set by anti-vax officials like HHS Secretary Kennedy. (Brandon Bell \/ Getty Images)        <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<section>\n<p>Health officials are warning of a spike in <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/measles-outbreak-school-attendance-absences-0384199ace95b4088f60864ce9ec8315\">measles<\/a> cases across parts of the United States as anti-vaccine rhetoric gains traction, fueled in part by high-profile figures like <a href=\"http:\/\/salon.com\/topic\/robert-f-kennedy-jr\">Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/measles\/data-research\/index.html\">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a> reported dozens of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/health\/health-news\/measles-outbreaks-no-end-2025-cases-mount-utah-arizona-south-carolina-rcna249743\">confirmed cases<\/a> in several states this month, including clusters linked to unvaccinated communities. Public health experts say that while measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. two decades ago, gaps in <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/healthcare\/5656844-trump-rfk-child-immunization-schedule-overhaul\/\">vaccination coverage<\/a> have allowed the virus to resurface.<\/p>\n<p>Before becoming the head of Health and Human Services, Kennedy has been a longtime vaccine skeptic and served as the head of Children\u2019s Health Defense. That organization has repeatedly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/dec\/19\/rfk-jr-anti-vaccine-group-measles-outbreak\">questioned<\/a> the safety and necessity of childhood immunizations, including the MMR vaccine.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/u-s-plan-to-drop-some-childhood-vaccines-to-align-with-denmark-will-endanger\/\">debate<\/a> has reignited discussions about vaccination policies in schools and public spaces. One idea is to match the schedule found within the Denmark school and health system. That country maintains high vaccination compliance through its childhood vaccine schedule, helping the country keep measles nearly eliminated.<\/p>\n<p>However, Danish doctors <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/12\/19\/health\/kennedy-childhood-vaccine-schedule-denmark.html\">question<\/a> its direct correlation as the medical needs of children in both countries don\u2019t entirely line up. But some public health officials in the U.S. point to such models as examples of how consistent messaging and access can prevent outbreaks.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><strong><em>Start your day with essential news from Salon.<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/newsletter?utm_source=onsite&#038;utm_medium=organic&#038;utm_campaign=crash-course-edit-signup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sign up for our free morning newsletter<\/a>, Crash Course.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>In response to rising case numbers, some states are tightening school-entry vaccine requirements and launching outreach campaigns. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/atlanta\/news\/georgia-sen-raphael-warnock-calls-hhs-secretary-robert-f-kennedy-jr-a-hazard-to-the-health-of-the-american-people\/\">CBS News<\/a> reported that Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock called Kennedy a \u201chazard to public health,\u201d reflecting broader concern in political circles.<\/p>\n<p>Experts warn that the outbreak could expand if <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ama-assn.org\/public-health\/prevention-wellness\/what-doctors-wish-patients-knew-about-family-immunizations\">vaccination rates<\/a> continue to lag.\u00a0<span>\u201cChildren should be getting all the\u00a0<\/span>vaccines <a href=\"https:\/\/publications.aap.org\/redbook\/resources\/15585\/\">recommended<\/a> by the American Academy of Pediatrics<span>,\u201d said Dr. Swathi Mannava Gowtham,<\/span><span> a Pennsylvania pediatric infectious diseases physician.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cOne of the triumphs of 20th century medicine is that vaccines have significantly reduced infant and childhood mortality, along with other public health measures, and immunization is one of the strongest public health measures we have,\u201d Dr. Gowtham said. \u201c<\/span><span>My worry is that when we have pockets of nonvaccination or undervaccination we\u2019re going to see a rise in cases in which each incidence, each complication was preventable. And that to me is tragic,\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<hr>\n<section>\n<h2>\n            Related Topics            <span><br \/>\n                &#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;            <\/span><br \/>\n        <\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<section data-post-id=\"880820\" data-terms=\"cdc,childhood-vaccinations,denmark,hhs,measles,rfk-jr,robert-f-kennedey-jr,vaccines\">\n<h2>\n        <span><br \/>\n            Related Articles        <\/span><br \/>\n    <\/h2>\n<div>\n        <template><br \/>\n            <a href><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><img src=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/app\/themes\/salon\/assets\/img\/salon-placeholder.webp\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" alt=\"Salon placeholder\">\n                    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>                <span><\/span><br \/>\n            <\/a><br \/>\n        <\/template>\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n<hr><\/div>\n<p> CK Smith <br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/2025\/12\/20\/outbreaks-expose-gaps-in-us-vaccination-coverage\/\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Public health experts warn that anti-vax advocacy contributes to preventable measles outbreaks in US communities Published December 20, 2025 2:15PM (EST) Measles outbreaks continue nationwide as more people grow cautious of childhood vaccination schedules, taking the lead set by anti-vax officials like HHS Secretary Kennedy. (Brandon Bell \/ Getty Images) Health officials are warning of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":880265,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[184,22140],"tags":[6520,18386],"class_list":{"0":"post-880264","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-expose","8":"category-outbreaks","9":"tag-expose","10":"tag-outbreaks"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=880264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880264\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/880265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=880264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=880264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=880264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}