evidence: Editorial: Measles outbreak in Samoa shows what can happen when vaccine opponents prevail [...] Given the circumstances and the fact that measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to humans, an outbreak in Samoa was all but inevitable. An estimated 2% of the population has been infected, killing 63 people as of Friday afternoon , most of them babies or small children, and forcing the government to shut down for two days last week to focus on getting vaccines to as many people as possible. More people are likely to die before the outbreak is over, and some will suffer from complications from the illness for the rest of their lives. [...] The Samoan government is making the right moves to address this outbreak and to ensure it doesn’t happen again. In November, it called a state of emergency and made vaccines mandatory, an extreme but in this case necessary measure. But, horrifyingly, even as health officials launched a massive vaccination campaign, anti-vaccination activists have continued spreading misinformation on social media, including the government’s own Facebook page. For the sake of Samoa’s children, we hope that reason prevails.