Canada lost its fight to eliminate measles, and the United States could be next

This month, Canada officially lost its measles elimination status, which it held for nearly 30 years — a shameful consequence of falling childhood vaccination rates.

In normal times, Canada’s misfortune might serve as yet another wake-up call for public health leaders in the U.S., which is precariously close to losing its own measles-free status.

But these are not normal times. Antivaccine and antiscience rhetoric continue to grow more deeply entrenched — within our health agencies, through local and state policies, and in the public imagination — making the nation’s elimination status only one of many looming threats to public health.

That situation is the result of a years-long campaign by antivaccine activists, who once operated at the fringes of society. But with Robert F. Kennedy J