Measles: Completely preventable but making a comeback

Measles: Completely preventable but making a comeback

Highly contagious, potentially deadly, and completely preventable, measles is making a comeback in the U.S. simply because children aren’t getting vaccinated.

How bad is it? As of Oct. 15, U.S. measles infections in 2025 hit a 33-year high, with 1,596 cases, including three deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 92% of the patients were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status; two-thirds were younger than 19; and 27% were under 5.

Why it matters: Effective vaccines eliminated measles in the U.S. in 2000. This year’s outbreaks follow declining immunization, with many school districts’ vaccination rates dipping below the herd immunity level of 95%.

Post-pandemic vaccination drop: In Texas, with 802 cases this year, Austin’s school district went from 1% noncompliance with measles vaccine requirements in 2019 to 1-in-5 students noncompliant in 2024, Texas Tribune reports. NBC News finds post-2019 vaccination rate declines in 77% of U.S. counties and jurisdictions.

Support for vaccine requirements: Vaccination is said to be politicized, but a new poll of voters found strong opposition to ending vaccine requirements in four red states: Arkansas (63%), Kansas (71%), Louisiana (64%), and Oklahoma (67%).

BIO’s take: “Decades ago, diseases like polio and measles brought suffering and death with no defense. Today, immunization represents the right and the ability to defend and protect those we love,” explains BIO’s campaign, “Invest in America. Vaccinate.”

Elevating the voices of people with sickle cell disease

Sickle cell disease (SCD) advocates won’t let the disease define them. An advocate with the condition tells Bio.News how she learned the importance of the patients’ voice.

The challenge to speaking out: “When people are interacting with you, they don’t realize that you’re managing these challenges because, as a sickle cell patient, you’re oftentimes wanting to function and you don’t want to be treated differently,” says Maia Laing, who is Chief Policy Officer for Sick Cells and has SCD, like her brother.

Why speaking out matters: “Advocacy is simply about building community and allowing other people to see what our challenges are, and helping people to see our value,” she explains.

A treatment challenge: Access to high-quality healthcare. This includes ensuring people with SCD have access to the treatments they need. It also means finding healthcare providers with the appropriate expertise, addressing geographic disparities, and navigating transitions in care.

Why policy matters: “I see the role of policy as being critical, because the policy influences where the resources go and how we navigate certain decision-making,” says Laing.

“Advocacy simply is raising awareness,” says Laing. “And you can do that on multiple levels.” Get involved at Sick Cells’ “Therapeutics Unlocked” Conference in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 12-13.

Read more on Bio.News.

What Else to Read

FDA grants new National Priority Vouchers. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Oct. 16 announced nine recipients under the new Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher (CNPV) pilot program. Recipients were deemed to have significant potential to address a major national priority, “such as meeting a large unmet medical need, reducing downstream health care utilization, addressing a public health crisis, boosting domestic manufacturing, or increasing medication affordability,” FDA said. Voucher recipients will receive a decision within 1-2 months of filing a drug or biologic application instead of the usual 10-12 months. Read more.

Pharmacy executive explains the damage caused by insurers’ step therapy practices. “A patient hears, ‘You have cancer.’ Their oncologist sits down with them, explains the treatment plan, and gives them resources and hope. Days later, the phone rings: Their health insurance company says no. Instead, the company forces the patient onto a different treatment—not because it’s better, but because of the insurer’s bottom line,” writes Kirollos Hanna in MinnPost. Hanna is the director of pharmacy for a large community oncology practice in the Twin Cities.

How can AI and biotech revolutionize healthcare? By combining the capabilities of AI and our advances in biotech, researchers can achieve remarkable progress in developing treatments, healthcare futurist Jamie Metzl explains in his book “Superconvergence: How the Genetics, Biotech, and AI Revolution Will Transform Our Lives, Work, and World,” which will be released in highly revised paperback form on Oct. 21. Metzl recently spoke to BIO’s leadership team about the possibilities and risks of AI-driven biotech. Read more.

Beltway Report

On Oct. 23, a Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee hearing on 340B programs promises to “evaluate the growth of the 340B Drug Pricing Program and its impact on patients,” including the Committee’s April report, which outlined concerns about 340B abuses.