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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Measles Is Harmful, Contrary to Flimsy Social Media Claims of Long-Term Benefits

Measles Is Harmful, Contrary to Flimsy Social Media Claims of Long-Term Benefits

Measles is an extremely contagious vaccine-preventable disease that can lead to death or disability. It also wipes out immune memory for several years after an infection. As an outbreak in Texas continues to expand, social media posts have claimed without sufficient support that measles infections are beneficial later in life against cancer and other diseases, an idea health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has echoed.