A record-breaking measles outbreak in the US has ended. It may have helped drive vaccination rates.

“I’ve been saying for a couple years now that I think it was going to take a resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases in our communities for people to really understand the benefits of vaccines and the protection that they offer,” said Josh Williams, a pediatrician with Denver Health [and associate professor of pediatrics] whose research has focused on vaccination trends. “So perhaps we’re seeing a little bit more of a collective remembering of the severity of these diseases and a desire from parents to make sure that their kids are protected when the diseases are circulating in the areas where they live and play,” he said.