Karlamangla, Soumya, “Where did the measles outbreak in LA start? Officials are looking abroad,” Los Angeles Times, April 29, 2019, https://tinyurl.com/y3mxn8l4.
Officials and medical experts suspect that a recent measles outbreak in Los Angeles County started with travelers who contracted the virus overseas.
Weber, Jared, “Measles outbreak: As students head back to school, US and world officials warn about risk,” USA Today, Aug. 14, 2019, https://tinyurl.com/y4hlq3dh.
This year’s worldwide total of measles cases is at a 13-year high, according to the World Health Organization, and international travel is worsening the situation.
Responding to Vaccine Hesitancy
Chodosh, Sara, “We’re finally studying how to combat the anti-vax movement, but the methods may surprise you,” Popular Science, May 20, 2019, https://tinyurl.com/y2h44w64.
Researchers studying how doctors should approach parents who are hesitant about vaccines say that acknowledging their concerns before encouraging them to vaccinate is the most effective method.
Kirka, Danica, “UK to pressure social media companies to fight anti-vax info,” The Associated Press, Aug. 19, 2019, https://tinyurl.com/y2fxjx7e.
The British government will hold a summit with social media companies to discuss how to fight online misinformation about vaccines, as the number of measles cases rises in the country.
Liao, Shannon, “GoFundMe pledges to remove anti-vax campaigns,” The Verge, March 22, 2019, https://tinyurl.com/yxpq5agv.
The crowdfunding website removed anti-vaccine fundraisers from their platform a few weeks after Amazon removed the documentary Vaxxed from its streaming service.
Vaccine Legislation
Ho, Vivian, “The California senator fighting for the strictest vaccination laws in the US,” The Guardian, Aug. 29, 2019, https://tinyurl.com/y4fdug9e.
A California state senator and pediatrician is leading the charge to limit exceptions to vaccine mandates for schoolchildren in the state.
Roy, Yancey, “Judge upholds law eliminating vaccine religious exemption,” Newsday, Aug. 27, 2019, https://tinyurl.com/yy3v3vam.
A judge on the New York Supreme Court upheld a new state law that eliminated a religious exemption from mandatory vaccines for children in schools or daycare programs.
Smith, Kelsie, “New vaccine law impacting student enrollment,” WHAM, Aug. 15, 2019, https://tinyurl.com/yy36a4gt.
A New York state law eliminating religious exemptions from vaccine mandates is leading to lower student enrollment in upstate New York, particularly in private schools.
For More Information
American Academy of Pediatrics, 141 Northwest Point Blvd., Elk Grove Village, IL 60007; 847-434-4000; www.aap.org. Association of physicians concerned with the health of children, adolescents and young adults.
American College of Physicians, 190 North Independence Mall West, Philadelphia, PA 9106-1572; 800-ACP-1915; www.acponline.org. National organization of internists, internal medicine subspecialists, medical students, residents and fellows.
American Medical Association, 330 N. Wabash Ave., Suite 3930, Chicago, IL 60611-5885; 312-464-4782; www.ama-assn.org. Organization that promotes the science of medicine and the improvement of public health.
California Immunization Coalition, 1331 Garden Highway, Sacramento, CA 95833; 916-414-9016; www.ImmunizeCa.org. Advocacy group that promotes full immunization in the state.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30333; 404-639-3311; www.cdc.gov. Federal agency responsible for tracking and preventing disease, injury and disability.
National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease, 5601 Fishers Lane, Bethesda, MD 20892-9806; 866-284-4107; www.niaid.nih.gov. Federal institute that researches infectious diseases, among other things.
National Vaccine Information Center, 204 Mill St., Suite B1, Vienna, VA 22180; 703-938-0342; www.nvic.org. An organization that lobbies for vaccine safety reforms and informed consent protections for parents.
World Health Organization, Ave. Appia 20m 1211, Geneva, 27, Switzerland; +41-22-791-2111; www.who.int/en/. United Nations organization that coordinates global public health efforts.
Descriptions of Images and Figures
Back to Figure
The horizontal axis ranges from 2010 to 2019. The vertical axis is labeled number of cases and ranges from 0 to 1,500 in increments of 300. The approximate data from the graph are tabulated below:
Back to Figure
The horizontal axis lists questions. The vertical axis lists percentage and ranges from 0 to 100 in increments of 20. The graph shows the percentage of respondents giving yes or no response to each of the following questions:
Should all children be required to get the measles vaccination, even if their parents personally object? Yes: 77 percent. No: 11 percent.
Are you vaccinated for the measles? Yes: 78 percent. No: 7 percent.
Is the measles vaccine safe? Yes: 87 percent. No: 3 percent.
3 The New Arms Race: Are New Treaties Needed to Control Modern Nuclear Weapons?
By Jonathan Broder
Intercontinental nuclear missiles are displayed during a military parade in Beijing in October 2019 to celebrate the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Nonproliferation advocates say China is racing to catch up to Russia and the United States in a global arms race.
Xinhua/Lan Hongguang via Getty Images
From CQ Researcher,
February 14, 2020
The Issues
Russia recently announced the deployment of its Avangard boost-glide vehicle, which rides a powerful rocket into orbit just above Earth’s atmosphere. From there, the vehicle, armed with a nuclear warhead, can strike anywhere on the planet within 15 minutes, moving toward its target at more than 20 times the speed of sound, according to Russian military officials.1
With its ability to steer around air and missile defenses at hypersonic speeds, the Avangard is “practically invulnerable,” Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.2 And it is just one of half a dozen new nuclear weapons delivery systems being developed