A perfect measles’ storm: Vaccine skepticism and failed leadership broke public trust

One hundred fifty-nine cases of measles had been reported in Texas as of Friday, and thousands more children are believed to be potentially exposed. More than 20 patients have been hospitalized.

The state has now begun surveying pediatric bed and ICU availability. Once admitted, children often require IV fluids and sometimes ventilator support to breathe. Tragically, an unvaccinated child and an adult from New Mexico have died.

The spread in Texas isn’t an isolated event. Cases have also surfaced in Alaska, California, New Mexico, New York City, Georgia, Rhode Island, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Concern that reports will continue to grow is rising.

It’s especially worrisome considering that the measles virus was completely eliminated in the U.S. as recently as the year 2000. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attributed this achievement to a “highly effective vaccine program in the United States, as well as better measles control in the Americas region.”

Measles cases have increased since the pandemic, and experts say a reduction in childhood vaccinations is to blame. 285 cases were reported in 2024. Only a week into March 2025, reports have already reached over half that number in Texas alone.

The U.S., which was considered a world leader in public health, has lost decades of progress in preventing the spread of a deadly disease with a provably safe therapy that has successfully saved millions of American lives.

The phrase often used to explain the resurgence of measles and other communicable diseases is “vaccine hesitancy.” But this underplays the significant backlash against vaccines and the flood of anti-vaccine misinformation to which many Americans have been subjected.

The reality is that Americans are increasingly adopting a more dismissive mindset in the way they view vaccine efficacy. Skepticism, rather than hesitancy, is a more accurate term to describe America’s perception of vaccines — and it shows no sign of slowing down.

Gallup last year found just 40 percent of Americans view childhood vaccines to be extremely important — down from 58 percent in 2019 and 64 percent in 2001. The year prior, measles killed over 100,000 children globally. Most of those who died were unvaccinated under the age of five.

Measles is one of the most contagious communicable diseases on record. It’s also extremely easy to control in a safe way, thanks to the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine, credited with protecting tens of millions of people from the virus around the world over the past 50 years.

So … how did we get here? The answer: distrust.

Distrust in health experts, who years ago were revered as national authorities on serious medical issues. Distrust in public health agencies, the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration specifically, once respected as credible information resources. Distrust in the strength and rigor of vaccine testing protocols, the pharmaceutical industry itself and the broader politicization of public health.

It's not too late. The U.S. can restore confidence in its public health institutions and those who represent them if it responds decisively in situations like the Texas measles outbreak. Americans need to hear health leaders such as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. urging parents everywhere to have their children immunized with the MMR vaccine. The science is clear.

Instead, this week the HHS secretary advised parents to consider immunization, clarifying that the decision to do so is a “personal one.” Weighing the option to vaccinate and consulting a healthcare provider is his definition of a “call to action” for American families to address the growing measles crisis.

Children and their families need their U.S. government representatives to communicate stronger, unified messages in these moments. Equivocating statements from the highest-appointed U.S. health authority granting permission to those already deeply skeptical about vaccines to avoid immunization aren’t the answer.

They won’t stop measles — or other far more deadly diseases — from spreading. Without leadership from Washington, children will die from vaccine-preventable illnesses.

Against the backdrop of the Trump administration’s push to eliminate entire government agencies, and reduce the overall size of the federal workforce, Americans have more reason to question recommendations from U.S. health authorities than ever before.

Thousands of jobs are being cut from HHS. Health information from HHS and CDC websites has been removed.

The first expert panel under the new administration to inform CDC vaccine recommendations has been postponed indefinitely. And a freeze of $1.5 billion in funding intended to support valuable work at the National Institute for Health, a portion of which was lifted in recent days, risked delays in the important areas of Alzheimer’s, heart disease and cancer research.

Such actions only perpetuate the belief that the U.S. government can’t be trusted as a credible public health information provider. They create confusion as to whom we should turn for guidance on important public health matters.

We need to be able to trust the government when diseases spread and lives are at stake. Communicating the importance of proven science and safe vaccinations would be a good first step.

Lyndon Haviland, DrPH, MPH, is a distinguished scholar at the CUNY School of Public Health and Health Policy.

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