Rising Rates of Measles are Highlighting Level of Vaccine Misinformation
While the spread of misinformation about vaccines is contributing to greater vaccine hesitancy, global rates of measles outbreaks are rising at alarming rates, leading to warnings being issued to international travelers.
Events season is well and truly underway for the bio/pharma industry with numerous conferences already successfully completed and social media buzzing with hot topics from the show floor. However, as many of us get our travel plans in place to embrace even more conference highs, health officials have issued a warning to travelers about the potential risks of measles, as global cases surge (1).
Measles is a highly contagious respiratory illness that can be easily spread through contaminated air or infected surfaces —the virus has the ability to survive for two hours even after an infected person leaves an area (2). Additionally, the virus can be spread prior to the infected person knowing that they are ill and can lead to serious complications, such as pneumonia and encephalitis.
Childhood vaccination programs in the U.S., Europe, and other parts of the world, have helped to control and even eradicate the measles virus over the past few decades. However, cases are rising at an alarming rate, with countries that had previously been declared as measles-free seeing numerous viral outbreaks, meaning their ‘measles-free’ statuses could be lost.
“Measles is back, and it’s a wake-up call. Without high vaccination rates, there is no health security,” said Dr. Hans P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, in a press release (3). “Every country must step up efforts to reach under-vaccinated communities. The measles virus never rests — and neither can we.”
Yet, vaccination programs are being negatively impacted by numerous factors, including political rhetoric, general public mistrust of pharma companies, and misinformation spread through anti-vaccine campaigns. According to a poll from KFF, most adults and parents in the U.S. have read or heard misinformation about the measles or MMR vaccines, such as the link between the vaccine and autism or the vaccine is more dangerous than being infected with the virus (4).
In a study published in BMJ, links between social media misinformation and rates of vaccination were analyzed, in addition to potential effectiveness of countermeasures that have been implemented on social media. The researchers found evidence of substantial negative effects of vaccine misinformation on social media and specified that there is an urgent need for action to correct or mitigate the spread of misinformation (5).
“Social media platforms are the epicenter of misinformation. They also need to be part of the solution,” said lead author of the study, Kai Ruggeri, PhD, professor of health policy and management at Columbia Mailman School, in a press release about the study results (6). “Misinformation is not new and its noxious consequences are not insurmountable, but its effect on vaccine hesitancy through social media is an urgent global threat to public health.”
References
Stobbe, M. U.S. Health Officials Warn All International Travelers to Get Measles Vaccination. Independent, June 2, 2025.
CDC. Global Measles. CDC.gov (accessed June 4, 2025).
Unicef, WHO Europe. European Region Reports Highest Number of Measles Cases in More than 25 Years. Press Release, March 13, 2025.
KFF. KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust: The Public’s Views on Measles Outbreaks and Misinformation. Polling Report, April 23, 2025.
Ruggeri, K.; Vanderslott, S.; Yamada, Y. Behavioural Interventions to Reduce Hesitancy Driven by Misinformation on Social Media. BMJ, 2024, 384, e076542.
Columbia Mailman School of Public Health. Vaccine Misinformation Outpaces Efforts to Counter It. News Release, Jan. 16, 2024.