Measles anywhere is a threat to kids everywhere

Dr. Orin Levine

March 13th, 2019

In this guest post for CBS News, Dr. Orin Levine, Director of Vaccine Delivery for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, weighs in on the recent measles outbreak in Washington State.

“Deciding to vaccinate your child is not just an individual choice, it’s a collective responsibility. The more vaccinated people there are in a community, the more protection they offer to vulnerable populations — like babies who are too young to get vaccinated or people with weak immune systems. The last person to die of measles in Washington State was a woman with a weakened immune system that would have limited the vaccine’s ability to protect her directly. She needed protection from the herd of vaccinated people around her and unfortunately that herd wasn’t strong enough.”

Learn more about our work on vaccine development and delivery.

Follow @OrinLevine on Twitter

Back to all updates