Childhood illnesses could reappear in vaccinated adults

As pediatric vaccination rates continue to decline, preventable illnesses will reemerge for all age groups, according to The New York Times

Between the 2019 to 2020 and 2022 to 2023 school years, national kindergarten coverage with state-required vaccinations declined from 95% to about 93%, according to the CDC. Fewer Americans think childhood vaccinations are important, too: In 2001, 64% said these inoculations are extremely important in a Gallup poll. By 2019, that figure fell to 58%, and in 2024, dropped to 40%. 

This season, norovirus and pertussis (whooping cough) cases in the U.S. hit decade records — two illnesses part of a "quad-demic," which also includes COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus. 

As vaccine skepticism grows nationwide, adults who received childhood vaccinations in their youth could face a higher risk of contracting once-common illnesses, the Times reported Jan. 13. 

Those infectious diseases that are rare in adults, but could grow in prevalence, include measles, mumps, rubella and pertussis. 

As pediatric vaccination rates drop, "we are making an active decision to make the world a less safe place for a significant proportion of the population," according to Alex Richter, MD, a clinical immunologist at the University of Birmingham in Britain. 

For example, rubella can be dangerous for pregnant women and their infants, but pregnant people cannot receive the vaccine since it contains a weakened live virus. If MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine rates continue to drop, more nonimmune mothers could catch rubella, increasing the risk of lifelong complications of blindness and deafness. 

"It might take a year or two, but there's no question," Pejman Rohani, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Georgia, told the outlet. "We will have outbreaks."

Copyright © 2025 Becker's Healthcare. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Linking and Reprinting Policy.

 

Articles We Think You'll Like

 

Featured Whitepapers

Featured Webinars