evidence: The pacific island nation of Samoa has been making headlines over the past month due to a significant measles outbreak. At last count, 4,995 measles cases had been recorded, and 72 people, mostly young children, had died. [...] The first laboratory-confirmed measles cases were reported in September, and an outbreak was declared in October. In the face of rising measles cases and deaths, the Samoan government declared a state of emergency on November 15, setting the scene for a campaign of mandatory vaccination. [...] High vaccine coverage (in 2018, 94.6% of five-year-old Australian children were fully vaccinated) means a measles outbreak of this magnitude would not occur in Australia at present. However, Samoa’s experience is a reminder there’s no room for complacency around vaccine preventable diseases.