U.S. may be reverting to a time when measles deaths were not very rare, experts warn ‘My concern is this does become a new normal for us’

https://www.statnews.com/2025/04/06/measles-third-death-new-normal/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9GMVq3zf7PVoWRv54-jwnmIgiG6KvwtLUlKpnJ9smscefLhnH2kIPc8m8coiOW0Jl7PVFSctRWSIjJ6YjGBBrPwn1j6Q&_hsmi=355451370&utm_content=355451370&utm_source=hs_email A second unvaccinated child has died from measles in West Texas. She was 8 years old, and previously healthy. On Sunday, after news of her death, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote in a post on X that “the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine.” It’s his most direct statement yet on the issue, after saying less than a month ago — against current evidence — that the measles shot caused deaths every year. The child’s death represents a tragedy that experts worry is about to become a lot less rare, STAT’s Helen Branswell reports. “With two, maybe three deaths already, I don't think it's implausible that we'll see more,” said Caitlin Rivers, an infectious diseases epidemiologist. Peter Marks, the recently ousted top vaccines regulator at the FDA, said it a little differently. “Unless we dramatically change course, drastically change course, it's going to be a problem,” he told Helen. “This is what measles does.” Read more from Helen about the challenges ahead.v