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Measles Is Back. It’s a Sign Worse Is Coming.

“When it surges like this, it signals that our vaccination programs are starting to fail, and that other diseases won’t be far behind.” Already, cases of whooping cough have surged, too....

NYTIMES 입력 2026.04.25 20:00 0

Measles Is Back. It’s a Sign Worse Is Coming.

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Measles Is Back. It’s a Sign Worse Is Coming.

April 25, 2026,

7:00 a.m. ET

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The resurgence of measles — a terrible disease that can swell the brain and cause permanent disabilities or death — is alarming enough on its own. There have been more than 1,700 cases reported in the United States already this year, up from about 70 per year in the early 2000s. Three children died last year.

The rise of measles may also be a harbinger of something even worse, public officials say. “Measles is basically a canary in the coal mine for our entire system,” says Dr. Scott Harris, the state health officer in Alabama’s Department of Public Health. “When it surges like this, it signals that our vaccination programs are starting to fail, and that other diseases won’t be far behind.” Already, cases of whooping cough have surged, too. And after two Florida children

died of Hib

, a bacterial infection, epidemiologists worry that disease is resurgent.

The most maddening aspect of this situation is that it was almost certainly avoidable. It

stems in large part

from a yearslong scare campaign by vaccine conspiracists including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who now serves as President Trump’s secretary of health and human services. Since taking office, Mr. Kennedy has turned his damaging ideas into federal policy. He has downplayed the seriousness of measles outbreaks; promoted dubious treatments and prevention strategies;

replaced an expert panel

that shaped federal vaccine recommendations with people who share his views but, for the most part, lack relevant experience or expertise; and made substantial changes to the childhood vaccine schedule without even convening that same group.

There is some reason to hope that the political climate is shifting against Mr. Kennedy. In March, a federal judge

blocked his changes

to the childhood vaccine schedule, calling them arbitrary, capricious and most likely illegal, and the Trump administration has not yet appealed. Last week, Mr. Trump announced the nomination of Dr. Erica Schwartz, a well-qualified Navy officer who supports vaccines, to run the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mr. Kennedy, appearing at several congressional hearings over the past week, tried to soft-pedal his views at times and

even acknowledged

that his department “has advised every child” to get the measles shot.

But Mr. Kennedy does not appear to have changed his actual views, and the threat to vaccines remains substantial. The military

recently eliminated

its flu vaccine requirement, for example. And the C.D.C. disingenuously

canceled the publication

of a study documenting large, continuing benefits from the Covid-19 vaccines.

Reversing the new vaccine skepticism will require a dedicated effort. State officials and members of Congress, especially Republicans, should speak up. So should doctors, religious leaders and corporate leaders. Protecting Americans from deadly, preventable diseases should not be a partisan issue, despite the attempts by opportunists like Mr. Kennedy to make it one.

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