Pediatricians with the American Academy of Pediatrics descended recently on the state Capitol to meet with state legislators to reinforce the importance of Connecticut policies that have led to some of the best protection against infectious diseases in the country.
The pediatricians’ words came amid an unsettling backdrop, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on March 20 that 2025 had brought nearly 400 cases, 64 hospitalizations and two deaths from measles to the United States so far. That’s more cases in three months than the country saw in all of 2024 and, according to the University of Colorado Anschutz, the first measles death seen in Texas since 2015.
Measles is a highly infectious disease that was previously considered eliminated in the United States in 2000 after decades of strong vaccination efforts. Prior to widespread vaccination, 3 to 4 million people in the United States got measles each year; up to 500 died, just under 50,000 were hospitalized and 1,000 people experienced swelling of the brain, with cases primarily among children.
With widespread vaccination in the late 1970s, measles cases fell up to 80% year-over-year from 1980 to 1981. Connecticut currently does not have any measles cases. In 2019 and 2021, the state saw four and two cases, respectively; it hasn’t previously reported more than nine cases in a year since 1993.
“The recent resurgence of measles cases is a serious public health concern, highlighting the fragility of our collective immunity and the dangerous consequences of declining vaccination rates,” said Dr. Barbara Ziogas, president of the CT-AAP. “However, equally concerning, and arguably more insidious, is the parallel epidemic of misinformation and disinformation surrounding vaccines.”
Misinformation and disinformation have rapidly degraded public trust in vaccines. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, an increasing number of adults in the United States believe the measles vaccine is more dangerous than a measles infection and that the MMR, or measles, mumps and rubella, vaccine causes autism in children, both of which are false claims.
KFF reported Republicans are significantly more likely than Democrats to believe the false claims, pointing toward political polarization worsening the issue. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has supported both claims.
The pediatricians cited a 2024 CDC report that found childhood vaccinations in the United States saved more than 1 million lives and prevented tens of millions of hospitalizations from 1994 to 2023.
“As a parent and pediatrician, I also focus on a much smaller number,” said Dr. Molly Markowitz, chair of the CT-AAP Advocacy Committee. “The death of one child from a vaccine preventable disease is too many. The current outbreak of measles which started in Texas and is now spreading is very concerning. The best way and only way to prevent measles infection is through vaccination.”
Connecticut is in a much stronger position than other states to resist potential measles outbreaks, they noted. In 2021, the state removed non-medical exemptions to vaccines from state statutes; four years later, the state’s vaccination rate is 97.7%, up 0.4% from 2023 and 1.3% from 2019. In that year, schools reported double-digit increases in use of non-medical exemptions at state schools.
“Our state has some of the highest vaccination rates in the country [due to the 2021 law],” said Sen. Saud Anwar, Senate chair of the legislature’s Public Health Committee. “But that’s not a sign for us to rest – we need to make sure our state remains focused on prevention of illness through vaccine uptake as pressure against their ability to save lives grows nationally.”
