Measles, Pharma and Mistrust: A Conversation with MAHA Moms and Dr. Paul Offit

This week, in his first speech addressing the Department of Health and Human Services as its new chief, RFK Jr.  said the path to the country earning back trust was through transparency. 

As Kennedy was saying these words to a packed audience,  Texas was clocking in more measles cases, in what is turning out to be its worst measles outbreak in 30 years. With rising mistrust in public health and declining vaccination rates, measles - a disease we eradicated over 20 years ago is making a comeback, worrying many in public health. 

But two MAHA moms in their fifties we heard from on today's episode ask a question we are increasingly hearing more often these days: what's the big deal about measles?  Both these moms got it as children and recovered, missed a few days of school and then had lifelong immunity. Is public health over reacting? They point to a classic Brady Bunch episode where the kids all catch measles, reflecting how the virus was once considered a rite of passage, a harmless childhood illness. If anything, doesn't getting a disease strengthen the immune system?

Before the vaccine, measles claimed the lives of 500 children every year and hospitalized tens of thousands more, and sometimes led to severe complications in kids many years after they got sick. 

But now that we have a vaccine, what’s the real risk of measles today? And why is the measles vaccine -- while still popular among the vast majority of this country -- losing the trust of a small but growing group of Americans? In this episode, we welcome back Dr. Paul Offit, a leading expert on childhood vaccines, to explore the questions surrounding measles and dig into the facts about pharmaceutical funding while aiming to model a more constructive conversation.

Hosts:

Brinda Adhikari

Tom Johnson

Maggie Bartlett

Dr. Mark Abdelmalek

Guests:

Yesenia Muhammad, Atlanta, MAHA Mom

Melinda Hicks, Atlanta, MAHA Mom

Dr. Paul Offit, pediatrician, infectious disease and vaccine specialist

Sources:

States looking to create exemptions for public school vaccine mandates:

https://apnews.com/article/vaccines-whooping-cough-rfk-measles-exemptions-covid-27dae6f61505ef1953ca869a78c71942

Public Attitudes on the MMR vaccine:

https://www.kff.org/health-information-and-trust/press-release/poll-trust-in-public-health-agencies-and-vaccines-falls-amid-republican-skepticism/#:~:text=Among%20parents%2C%20about%20seven%20in,the%20benefits%20

CDC numbers on risk from Measles
https://www.cdc.gov/measles/signs-symptoms/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/measles/symptoms/complications.html#

Measles compromises immune memory

Measles virus infection diminishes preexisting antibodies that offer protection from other pathogens

Clinical Trial data on MMR:

[Simultaneous administration at different dosages of attenuated live virus vaccines against measles, mumps and rubella]. 

Clinical evaluation of a new measles-mumps-rubella trivalent vac

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