Overview

• The U.S. is facing one of its worst measles outbreaks in over a decade, with nearly 900 cases reported across 27 states and two confirmed child deaths.
• A new KFF poll reveals that a majority of Americans have encountered false claims about the MMR vaccine, including debunked links to autism and assertions that the vaccine is more dangerous than the disease.
• Exposure to misinformation has increased significantly since last year, with a 15-percentage-point rise in those hearing the claim that the vaccine is riskier than measles itself.
• Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has complicated public health messaging by amplifying unproven narratives about vaccine risks and alternative treatments like vitamin A.
• Experts warn that declining vaccination rates, driven by misinformation and political divides, threaten the U.S.'s measles-free status achieved in 2000.