An infectious disease expert has answers for you about the uncertain future of children鈥檚 health in light of the resurgence of measles in the US and the rise of vaccine hesitancy.
In 2000, the United States declared that measles had been eliminated. But just 15 years later, the disease made a comeback鈥攁nd it hasn鈥檛 gone away since.
In this episode of the Big Brains podcast, , director of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at NYU and author of (Penguin Random House, 2025), explains why measles outbreaks are occurring again鈥攁s vaccine hesitancy and the antivax movement is on the rise鈥攁nd what this means for children鈥檚 health.
Ratner describes why measles is the most contagious disease we know of, and why it can be particularly harmful to children. As vaccination rates for children and adults continue to decrease in the US, are we at risk of undoing decades of medical progress? And what can we do to stop it?
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