The number of people who have contracted measles in Texas continues to rise amid the ongoing outbreak.
On Friday, March 28, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) confirmed that 400 measles cases have now been "identified since late January" in the South Plains and Panhandle regions of the state, per a news update, with 41 of the patients being hospitalized. One child has died from measles complications.
The state agency reported that all but two of those cases were either unvaccinated or their vaccination status wasn't known. This makes it clear and undeniable that the outbreak can be attributed to the wider acceptance of vaccine hesitancy.
Using a combination of patient narrative, historical analysis, and scientific research, Dr. Adam Ratner, pediatrician and infectious disease specialist, argues that the reawakening of measles is an indication of decaying trust in science and an underfunded public health infrastructure.
Ratner says this outbreak is a preventable tragedy. He says to solve the problem of mass rejection of vaccines requires teaching the crucial lessons of the past before vaccines were available and saved lives.
Guest:
Adam Ratner, MD, MPH is a Professor of Pediatrics and Microbiology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and Director of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital and Bellevue Hospital Center. Having cared for many patients during both the 2018-2019 measles outbreak and the COVID-19 pandemic, he has a particular interest in vaccine-preventable diseases that impact children and their families. In addition to practicing medicine, Dr. Ratner directs an active research group and teaches students, residents, and other trainees. He speaks widely in both academic settings and news outlets on topics relevant to vaccination and infections in childhood. His work has appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine, PNAS, Pediatrics, and other venues. He has edited a major textbook of pediatric infectious diseases, chaired grant review panels for the National Institutes of Health and served on numerous advisory and editorial boards.
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This interview will be recorded on Tuesday, April 1, 2025.
