‘The lives of individuals in the US are at stake,’ researchers warn after HHS cancels hundreds of vaccine grants

A recent study estimated that 1 in 5 parents in the US are hesitant about vaccines, just as vaccine-preventable infections such as measles and whooping cough are surging again. “It really makes no logical sense,” said co-author Sean O’Leary, a pediatrician at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. “We think of measles as the canary in the coal mine of vaccine-preventable diseases, because it’s so contagious that it’s the first one when you see immunization coverage in general drop. It’s the first one you’re going to see pop up.” he said – and other infections won’t be far behind.