The MMR vaccine – named for the three diseases it protects against: Measles, Mumps and Rubella – has been a great success around the world since it was first released in public in 1971. In fact, thanks largely to this vaccine, Measles was declared eradicated in the United States in 2000.
Sadly, in the years since then, anti-vaxxers have increased in numbers, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic. In fact, a prominent anti-vaxxer is now the head of the Department of Health in the USA, and he has not been shy about using his position to push his fringe views. As a result, MMR vaccine is now below the necessary 95% rate for herd immunity – although a measles outbreak across many of the US’s southern states in early 2025 is expected to cause an uptake in vaccinations.
