Measles infections across the United States have reached a 35-year high, with more than 3,000 cases reported nationwide, and a public health expert says growing vaccine hesitancy — including signals from federal officials — is a driving force behind the surge.
Dr. Tyler Evans, CEO of Wellness Equity Alliance and former chief medical officer for New York City, said the scale of the outbreak demands urgent action and warns that politics must be removed from public health decisions.
"This is the largest outbreak since 1991," Evans said. "We really have to ensure that politics stays out of public health."
Evans said measles is one of the most infectious diseases known. In a room of 100 unvaccinated people, roughly 20 could contract the virus — a transmission rate far exceeding influenza, which spreads to one or two people under similar conditions. That level of infectiousness, he said, makes vaccination the only reliable defense.
He said a lack of public confidence in vaccines has been a long-standing challenge, one that accelerated sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic. With hesitancy now being amplified by public figures and federal officials, Evans said the consequences are showing up in case counts.
"Microbes don't know the difference" between red states and blue states, Evans said. "Politics really needs to stay out of public health."
Evans said community leaders must step in to bridge the gap between scientists and the public, especially in areas where access to primary care is limited and patients may only get 15 minutes with a doctor.
"The community leaders need to be connected to the scientists and the public health professionals," Evans said. "It can't always be the doctors."
Pennsylvania has become one of the hardest-hit states, surpassing 500 cases. The state has also confirmed two children have died of measles — among the first such deaths reported in the U.S. this year.
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Evans dismissed the debate over whether children are dying from measles or merely with it, calling the distinction a dangerous distraction.
"When we're dealing with infectious diseases... there's a whole host of factors that contribute to somebody's sickness," Evans said. "But the infectious disease could be the tipping point that really leads them to that hospitalization or that death. And why play around with that? These are babies."
He said young children and those with immunocompromising conditions face the greatest risk, as their immune systems are less equipped to fight off the compounding effects of the virus.
Evans, who writes about the intersection of public health and politics in his book Pandemics, Poverty and Politics, urged parents to check local case counts, contact school districts about known outbreaks, and keep children home if infections have been reported nearby.
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Above all, he said, get vaccinated.
"These vaccines are one of the most effective out there," Evans said. "This is not something that we want to play with."
