{"id":14704,"date":"2026-07-24T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/?p=14704"},"modified":"2026-07-24T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T09:00:00","slug":"the-child-is-terrified-doctors-on-the-front-lines-of-a-measles-comeback-speak-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/?p=14704","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Child Is Terrified\u2019: Doctors on the Front Lines of a Measles Comeback Speak Out"},"content":{"rendered":"

This isn\u2019t just a bad year for measles. It looks to be the start of a bad era. Confirmed measles cases<\/a> just hit a 35-year high, and it\u2019s only July. Together with last year, the number of cases has exceeded the combined total over the previous 25 years. The vast majority of cases stem from domestic outbreaks fueled by low rates of vaccination\u2014and rates are declining.<\/p>\n

For the first time in a quarter century, the U.S. no longer meets a main criterion for having eliminated measles as a public health threat. That status hinges on sporadic outbreaks fizzling out within a year. Utah\u2019s outbreak has lasted for longer, since June 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nearly 400 people have been hospitalized with measles in the U.S. this year and last, three people have died, and at least three suffered brain swelling<\/a> with lingering symptoms<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is set to finalize a comprehensive study of the nation\u2019s measles situation, examining data from January 2025 through June 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we could say with a straight face that there hasn\u2019t been transmission over the past 12 months,\u201d said a CDC scientist with knowledge of the agency\u2019s measles report. (KFF Health News agreed not to name the researcher, who is concerned about retaliation.) The researcher said a national committee of measles specialists will review the CDC\u2019s internal report, which then goes to the Pan American Health Organization, a group that evaluates the measles elimination status of countries throughout North, South, and Central America and the Caribbean.<\/p>\n

PAHO will make its decisions<\/a> at an annual meeting this fall, but scientists say the writing is on the wall. \u201cThe assessment for elimination isn\u2019t until November, but that is a scheduling issue, basically,\u201d said Anne Schuchat, who led the CDC\u2019s immunization and respiratory disease group from 2006 to 2015.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just so sad, because some people will get brutally ill,\u201d she said of measles\u2019 return. \u201cThis is a wake-up call.\u201d<\/p>\n

Southwestern Utah has been hit hard by an ongoing measles outbreak that\u2019s lasted for more than a year. (Amy Maxmen\/KFF Health News)<\/p>\n

Pediatricians in Utah have been on the front lines<\/a> as measles and other vaccine-preventable ailments have returned to the U.S. In interviews with KFF Health News, six doctors shared insights on this new era of vaccine hesitancy \u2014 and what could be done to turn the situation around.<\/p>\n

The conversations have been edited for clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n

On Unvaccinated Children Hospitalized With Measles Complications<\/strong><\/p>\n

Emilie Morris, a hospital pediatrician in Salt Lake County and Utah County:<\/strong> When children come in, they\u2019re often bent over. We call it tripoding, which is particular to upper respiratory infections and airway swelling. They have a rash \u2014 viruses cause rashes all the time \u2014 but in this context, the kid is hunched over, mouth open, drooling, crying, maybe not even producing tears, because they\u2019re so dehydrated. Really labored breathing, kind of tugging in their belly, tugging between their ribs. Their eyes look kind of glazed over. It\u2019s like they\u2019re seeing through you.<\/p>\n

Nathan Money, a hospital pediatrician in Salt Lake County and Utah County:<\/strong> If the child has a fever or trouble breathing, and they\u2019re unvaccinated, I have to be way more aggressive from a medical standpoint, because they are at higher risk of having life-threatening illnesses. I have to do more blood work, or lumbar punctures to rule out meningitis. I have to do things which are painful, and it\u2019s traumatic for the families.<\/p>\n

I tell them, \u201cBecause your child doesn\u2019t have vaccines, I have to be more worried about conditions like sepsis or meningitis, so therefore I need to do more workup.\u201d The last thing I want to do is miss something. These are parents who love their children. They always tell me, \u201cDo what you need to do to make sure my child is safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Treating Unvaccinated Children Hospitalized for Measles<\/strong><\/p>\n

Trahern W. Jones, a pediatric infectious disease specialist based in Salt Lake City:<\/strong> So I\u2019m coming into a room and just hearing the most awful barking cough, just a cough and a high-pitch stridor as the child is trying to breathe. And he\u2019s just coughing so hard it just makes you<\/em> feel short of breath. He looks like he\u2019s been beaten down for days, but he can\u2019t rest, because the cough keeps him awake.<\/p>\n

The parents tell me they\u2019re not anti-vaccine, but in the past, somebody they know had a reaction to a vaccine \u2014 or something they thought was a reaction to a vaccine \u2014 and so they paused vaccines when the child was a baby. They were planning to catch up later.<\/p>\n

In another case, the parent was stunned by how awful it was. I asked them what they knew about measles before their child was sick, and they said the only person who\u2019d ever taught them anything about measles was their grandmother who had taken care of her kids with measles ages ago. That\u2019s something I\u2019ve heard from other parents. It\u2019s such an awful illness. Even the best possible course is going to be one of the worst diseases most children ever go through.<\/p>\n

There are multiple facets to it. Physically, the child has been beat down for multiple days by this virus. The parents don\u2019t get to sleep, because they\u2019re nursing their child. Then there\u2019s the emotional component because the parent is regretting not getting the vaccine, not realizing how bad this was, and then feeling deeply ashamed, trying to reconcile with family members who are really upset at them for not getting their child vaccinated.<\/p>\n

\n

Morris:<\/strong> One child was from a family that was uninsured because they didn\u2019t feel that they would need to use the medical system. They were faced with the high burden of cost of our healthcare system. The cost was playing into the parents\u2019 decision on whether or not their child should receive necessary medical care. I said something like: \u201cPlease don\u2019t go home. Your child needs oxygen. She has pneumonia. We will figure out a way to pay for this, because we acknowledge what we do is expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n

On top of that, the parent had several other children in the home who weren\u2019t vaccinated. It was past the period where we could intervene with vaccines to try to prevent infection, so then our recommendation was to quarantine their children at home for 21 days: \u201cDon\u2019t interact with anybody else in your community. Don\u2019t go to the grocery store, even with a mask. Please take this seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

It takes time for parents to understand the level of concern I have, even when their child is physically ill in the hospital requiring ongoing care. It\u2019s pretty indicative of the breakdown of trust between physicians and families. I say, \u201cThis is the gravity or severity of your child\u2019s situation and how serious we need to be about protecting other people.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s frustrating. How can I make people understand I have a very genuine concern for their child? And I know they share that concern, but maybe it\u2019s not the same degree of concern, because they don\u2019t understand the illness and how severe it can become.<\/p>\n

Money:<\/strong> It\u2019s heartbreaking to see these children struggling to survive when measles could have been easily prevented by a safe mechanism that is readily available and well studied. These are well-meaning parents who love their children, who have gotten bad information from federal leadership or from online sources. The saddest part to me is when I am caring for a child and the parent says, \u201cI didn\u2019t know that this could get so bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Conversations With Parents Who Don\u2019t Vaccinate Their Children<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tim Duffy, a pediatrician in Salt Lake County:<\/strong> A lot of families aren\u2019t aggressively anti-vax, but they\u2019re hesitant. Younger parents who grew up in the digital age have done their research \u2014 \u201cresearch\u201d in quotation marks \u2014 for months. And they keep getting confirmation of their concerns on social media. They think they\u2019re doing what\u2019s best for their child.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve told families: \u201cYou could do nothing I say as a pediatrician. You could sleep your child on their stomach. You could not put them in a car seat or, when they\u2019re older, not use seat belts. You could do nothing I say, and for your individual child, they will probably be OK. But from my standpoint, where I\u2019m taking care of thousands of kids, within a system that takes care of hundreds of thousands of kids, we will have bad outcomes. These children will show up at our facilities, and it\u2019s so sad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tim Duffy, a pediatrician in Salt Lake County, Utah, says many parents are concerned about incorrect claims about vaccines seen on social media. (Amy Maxmen\/KFF Health News)<\/p>\n

Pediatrician in southern Utah whom KFF Health News agreed not to name, because of concerns about harassment after being targeted by anti-vaccine activists in the past:<\/strong> A lot of parents are concerned about autism. I\u2019ve told them that I\u2019d be very concerned if there was any evidence that what we\u2019re doing is causing autism. But if vaccines were causing autism, we should see more cases of autism in vaccinated kids compared to unvaccinated kids, and we\u2019re just not seeing that.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve also had families who say they want to be natural, or that they\u2019re concerned about what is in the shots. A frequently asked question is: \u201cDid you vaccinate your children?\u201d I say that knowing what I know, I\u2019m confident giving this to my kids. They\u2019re all vaccinated.<\/p>\n

On the Influence of Politics on Vaccine Hesitancy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jones:<\/strong> Vaccines have become a political football. That wasn\u2019t true 20 years ago. But now it\u2019s used to drive a wedge between groups of people, which is unfortunate. Vaccines are one of the main reasons why we don\u2019t have to worry about losing our kids.<\/p>\n

Southern Utah pediatrician:<\/strong> People don\u2019t know who to believe. If politics comes up, I tell parents that my messaging on vaccines is not politically motivated. When parents ask about changes to the vaccine schedule, I\u2019m transparent. [In January, the Department of Health and Human Services controversially recommended<\/a> reducing the number of vaccines given to children. A few months later, a federal judge blocked those changes.]<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve said there was a process for the approval of immunizations through ACIP [the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices], which is made up of scientists, public health experts, and doctors, and all those people were let go, and a new panel was selected. A couple of individuals changed the recommendation outside of the time-tested, evidence-based process for evaluating vaccines. That raises concerns for me as a doctor. I tell parents that the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and several other professional organizations have issued statements saying that these changes are not based on evidence.<\/p>\n

Ellie Brownstein, pediatrician in Salt Lake County and president-elect of the Utah chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics:<\/strong> I avoid talking about politics, but what\u2019s being said has added another layer to our work. One family asked me about changes to vaccine recommendations, so instead of just telling them what immunizations are due, I talk with them about why physicians and researchers have followed a different schedule for years, about the reasoning and the science behind it. I explain that I trust these experts over someone without a lot of experience.<\/p>\n

The Southwest Utah Public Health Department stocks vaccines against measles, whooping cough, tetanus, hepatitis B, and other diseases. (Amy Maxmen\/KFF Health News)<\/p>\n

Money:<\/strong> People are not vaccinated, because they\u2019ve lost trust in the medical community. They\u2019re placing trust elsewhere. Rebuilding trust is a complicated process, but it comes from consistent messaging at every level, from the pediatrician to local health departments to community leaders, city leadership, district leadership, religious leadership, educational leadership.<\/p>\n

We need consistent messaging from state leadership, which has been pretty absent. I want to see commercials on TV about the safety of the MMR [measles, mumps, and rubella] vaccine and the dangers of the measles, sponsored by my state leadership. I\u2019d like to see this on billboards and in schools, in public buildings and grocery stores. I want to go to a sports event and see messages about the measles and the MMR vaccine. Right now, people have to go out of their way to find information from reputable sources.<\/p>\n

We also need policy changes to support vaccination. This train is going in the wrong direction, and it can feel like a helpless situation, because we\u2019re just not seeing the public messaging and leadership that\u2019s needed to turn this around.<\/p>\n

Advice on Talking With Parents Who Don\u2019t Vaccinate Their Children<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jones:<\/strong> Approach them with as much compassion as you possibly can. Ask open-ended questions to learn about their experiences that led them to have these concerns. I think it\u2019s really important to not come down on them, citing facts and figures and pointing to guidelines on why they need to get their kids vaccinated. But try to direct their attention to the fact that you\u2019re a real person with your own real experiences and knowledge. I point out to families that I have my own kids, and I would never recommend something for your kids that I wouldn\u2019t do for mine.<\/p>\n

Southern Utah pediatrician:<\/strong> I\u2019ve learned that if you come down hard, you\u2019re going to lose people who need care. My number one goal now is to build bridges and maintain a relationship with families, because that\u2019s what\u2019s going to allow me to convince some of them.<\/p>\n

I approach people differently depending on where they are. Parents who are very skeptical or anti-vax will say no when I tell them their child is due for immunizations. I\u2019ll say: \u201cFine. You guys get to choose. You\u2019re the parents. But I\u2019m curious to know what your reasoning is.\u201d Sometimes they\u2019re just like, \u201cIt\u2019s something I\u2019ve decided.\u201d They don\u2019t want to have a conversation.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a good day if I can have a conversation with someone who doesn\u2019t want to vaccinate, even if I don\u2019t convince them. I try to help them think through things rather than shoving anything down their throat. When they\u2019re done talking, I\u2019ll ask, \u201cCan I share my perspectives on this?\u201d Some will say yes enthusiastically, and others will say yes because they\u2019re being polite.<\/p>\n

A lot of parents aren\u2019t sure what to do, and those are the people I focus most of my time on. I focus our conversation on their specific concerns, and I\u2019m open about specific side effects that different immunizations can have. For example, I\u2019ll tell them that some children get a fever after a vaccine, which is OK. The fever is not harmful, but it can make babies feel crummy as their body is building up antibodies against viruses and bacteria.<\/p>\n

Brownstein:<\/strong> I don\u2019t like the idea of excluding unvaccinated kids from my practice. I know some do that. But what that does is it ends any future discussion. I can\u2019t keep talking with parents about vaccines if I kick them out of my practice, and if these parents find like-minded doctors, this situation will get worse.<\/p>\n

On Being on the Front Lines of Measles\u2019 Comeback in the U.S.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Money:<\/strong> I wish that people could see what I see. Everyone else sees what people post on Instagram. Or they think, \u201cSomeone I know had measles when they were a kid and they were fine.\u201d But as a hospital-based pediatrician, I see what happens when things go poorly. I see what happens when children with measles aren\u2019t able to breathe on their own, and they\u2019re in a hospital bed with a cannula in their nose, struggling to breathe, an IV in their arm because they can\u2019t drink on their own. And the child is terrified, and the parents are scared that their child might die.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s heartbreaking as a pediatrician and as a father to know that the entire situation could have been easily prevented.<\/p>\n

Duffy:<\/strong> Even though parents say vaccination is their choice, I still feel personally responsible if something bad happens that\u2019s preventable, because I feel like I didn\u2019t say the right thing, I didn\u2019t ask the right questions. Maybe I let it drop because of the look on a parent\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

Morris:<\/strong> Every pediatrician I know cares so deeply about what they do. Sometimes people forget that we are human beings practicing this discipline, and we bring all our concerns for our community into this space. I\u2019m trying to navigate a lot of complex human emotions, like how it feels to hold grief with a family when something bad happens that was preventable \u2014 which is the worst situation, because you think, \u201cCould I have done something differently?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones:<\/strong> I think we\u2019ll see more diseases start coming back that we thought we had gotten rid of. I think it\u2019s going to take dramatic changes to actually prevent those outcomes. I\u2019m not necessarily seeing those changes being done by those in power.<\/p>\n

I think of that quote from The Lord of the Rings<\/em>. It\u2019s something like, you don\u2019t get to choose the time that you\u2019re born into, but you get to choose what you\u2019re going to do about it. And if there\u2019s any comfort that I have, it\u2019s in knowing that there are right decisions to make and that I\u2019m going to make them, and I\u2019m going to help others make them, too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

KFF Health News<\/a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF\u2014an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

This article<\/a> first appeared on KFF Health News<\/a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This isn\u2019t just a bad year for measles. It looks to be the start of a bad era. Confirmed measles cases just hit a 35-year high, and it\u2019s only July. Together with last year, the number of cases has exceeded the combined total over the previous 25 years. The vast majority of cases stem from…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":14705,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14704"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14704\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medical-article.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}