America’s Measles Wake-Up Call (and Why Rolling Back MMR Is Reckless)

Hook

1,500 + measles cases in the U.S. this year — the most in decades.
So why are some voices flirting with rolling back routine MMR?
That’s not prudence. That’s negligence dressed up as debate.

Context

• The surge: CDC reports > 1,500 confirmed cases in 2025, seeded by under-vaccinated communities.
• The spark: Kindergarten MMR coverage ≈ 92–93 %, below the 95 % needed for herd protection.
• Policy noise: ACIP’s MMRV tweak for < age 4 is a safety optimization, not a rollback of MMR.

Your Take

Rolling back MMR mid-outbreak is like removing seatbelts because traffic’s heavy.
Measles is airborne, ferociously contagious, and fast.
It hits babies too young for MMR and those who can’t be vaccinated.

Implications

Normalize delay, and you normalize disease.
The way out is boring but sure: vaccinate, document, close gaps.

Further Reading

• Our evergreen guide → /guides/measles
• CDC Measles: Cases & Outbreaks

Closing

We don’t fight fires by arguing about the hose.
Get MMR done — and keep it that way.