An anti-vaccine social media account claims that vaccines never save lives, using measles as an alleged example. The post includes a graph that cites an anti-vaccine book to claim that measles deaths have actually increased since the introduction of the measles vaccine. The graph misrepresents several important data points, including the date of the first measles vaccine.
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Misinformation about routine vaccines continues circulating online, fueling hesitancy and resistance to vaccines. Messaging may emphasize that measles killed millions of children annually before the introduction of the vaccine in 1963. The five years following the vaccine’s introduction saw a nearly 95 percent decline in the measles death rate in the U.S. The measle vaccine has dramatically reduced measles infections and deaths worldwide, saving millions of lives. However, measles outbreaks still occur in regions with low vaccination rates, such as the recent outbreak in Ohio that affected dozens of unvaccinated children. Fact Checking Source(s): Infectious Diseases Society of America, GAVI, College of Physicians of Philadelphia
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