As Measles Outbreak Continues, Misinformation Continues to Grow
In a new survey, approximately one-third of respondents have heard that the MMR vaccine is more dangerous than being infected with the infection.
As of April 17, 2025, the CDC reported a total of 800 confirmed measles cases within 25 jurisdictions in the United States. As of this date, there were 10 outbreaks—defined as 3 or more related cases—with 94% of cases associated with an outbreak.1
In a new survey, approximately one-third of respondents have heard that the MMR vaccine is more dangerous than being infected with the infection. | Image Credit: Leigh Prather - stock.adobe.com
In an update from April 22, 2025, 624 cases of measles have been reported in Texas, which has the most cases of measles currently. Other jurisdictions include Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, New York State, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, and Washington.1,2
“The current outbreak is largely based in Texas, with some spillover into New Mexico. That counts for about 90% of cases,” Crystal Hodge, PharmD, associate professor of pharmacotherapy at The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, said in an interview.3 “One of the biggest concerns in Texas is that the reason why it was able to become such an outbreak is because of the low vaccination rates in that particular community where it was imported, and unfortunately, I think that one of the things that the COVID pandemic highlighted is that there tends to be a lack of trust and goodwill in health care.”
In a survey by KFF, about half of adults (51%) and parents (47%) said they were at least “somewhat worried” about the current outbreak of measles in the United States, with approximately 1 in 7 adults saying they are very worried. The investigators of the survey found Black and Hispanic patients have higher worry about the rising of measles cases—about 6 in 10 respondents—compared with only half of White adults.4
Approximately 63% of adults and 61% of parents said they have read or heard about the claim that the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine causes autism in children, with approximately 72% of White adults, 53% of Black adults, and 45% of Hispanic adults hearing this claim. Another one-third of adults have heard or read that the measles vaccine is more dangerous than being infected with the virus, and approximately 17% of parents heard or read that vitamin A can prevent measles infections. Since March 2024, the investigators reported that respondents that heard the measles vaccine is more dangerous than the infection increased about 15%.4
“There’s still that belief that [MMR vaccines] can cause autism, which we know is not true. We've spent decades disproving it. A lot of energy and resources, but that is still out there,” Lauren Angelo, PharmD, associate dean for academic affairs at Rosalind Franklin University, said in an interview.5 “Even though this isn't really vaccine-related, we're seeing that vitamin A prevents measles, and that obviously is not true, and it's a very dangerous place to be.”
