One in eight children are at risk of contracting measles in the US, due to a rise in the number of children failing to receive their measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, or boosters. At present, children who cannot be given vaccines for medical reasons or because they are too young are protected against the diseases, since the majority of the population around ﻿them are vaccinated, so it is hard for outbreaks to get established. The CDC has been working with state health departments on how to prevent outbreaks.
One in eight children are at risk of contracting measles in the US, due to a rise in the number of children failing to receive their measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, or boosters. At present, children who cannot be given vaccines for medical reasons or because they are too young are protected against the diseases, since the majority of the population around ﻿them are vaccinated, so it is hard for outbreaks to get established. However, new research shows that the US is getting dangerously close to the herd immunity threshold of 94%, which is the percentage of people in a community that needs to be immune, so as to stop outbreaks occurring.