Spring is in full bloom in Middle Tennessee, and with it comes a new wave of babies flooding into public spaces. The author’s own experience as a parent who has watched vaccination rates plummet over the past few decades offers a unique perspective on this trend.
In 1992, when the author’s first child was born during flu season, parents were advised to keep their children home until infections subsided. At that time, vaccination rates provided de facto herd immunity in the US. However, by the late 1990s, a discredited study published in The Lancet linked autism to the MMR vaccine.
This study sparked a wave of anxiety among parents, leading them to weigh the risks of vaccinating their children against deeply loved ones. The author notes that this shift in conversation changed everything for families who had previously taken vaccination as a given.
Today, with the resurgence of measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases, many are questioning whether it’s still safe to get vaccinated at older ages. As society navigates these complex issues, we must consider the impact of misinformation on public health policy and individual decision-making.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/opinion/measles-vaccine-babies.html