Falling vaccine rates could mean millions of measles cases: Study
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5268497-vaccine-rates-measles-outbreak-study/?tbref=hp
A new study warns that the U.S. could see millions of new measles cases over the next 25 years if vaccination rates continue to fall.
The research, published in science journal JAMA, used modeling to forecast the number of measles cases in several scenarios, including vaccination rates holding steady, rising or falling.
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If vaccination rates hold steady at todays level, researchers predict 851,300 cases of measles over the next 25 years.
But if vaccination rates drop just 10 percent, there could be 11.1 million measles cases in that same time frame. If vaccination rates drop by 50 percent, there could be 51.2 million cases of measles over the next 25 percent, the study notes.
Assuming that vaccination rates fell at the same level for all childhood vaccines, measles isnt the only dangerous, previously eliminated disease that could make a comeback.
Cases of polio and rubella could also rise, leading to a potential 10. 3 million hospitalizations and 159,200 deaths, along with thousands of cases of post-measles neurological complications, rubella-related birth defects and post-polio paralysis.
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