Listen: Why measles is back in the US and what can be done
An expert digs into the uncertain future of children’s health in light of the resurgence of measles and the rise of vaccine hesitancy.
An infectious disease expert has answers for you about the uncertain future of children’s health in light of the resurgence of measles in the US and the rise of vaccine hesitancy.
In 2000, the United States declared that measles had been eliminated. But just 15 years later, the disease made a comeback—and it hasn’t gone away since.
In this episode of the Big Brains podcast, Adam Ratner, director of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at NYU and author of Booster Shots: The Urgent Lessons of Measles and the Uncertain Future of Children’s Health (Penguin Random House, 2025), explains why measles outbreaks are occurring again—as vaccine hesitancy and the antivax movement is on the rise—and what this means for children’s health.
Ratner describes why measles is the most contagious disease we know of, and why it can be particularly harmful to children. As vaccination rates for children and adults continue to decrease in the US, are we at risk of undoing decades of medical progress? And what can we do to stop it?
Read the transcript of the episode.
Source: University of Chicago
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