There’s no mystery here. Vaccine uptake declined after the start of the pandemic because anti-vax disinformation went mainstream and financial interests against public health protections minimized the threat of covid. This was a project fully funded by deep pockets at the same time the government and public health refused to do a proper vaccine campaign.
CIDRAP – Dataset shows national decline in MMR vaccine uptake since peak of COVID Stephanie Soucheray, MA June 3, 2025 “Our county-level dataset complements the state and national-level CDC data, confirming a widespread decline in MMR vaccination rates in the US after the COVID-19 pandemic while revealing significant heterogeneity in vaccination patterns within and across states,” the authors concluded. The authors also said the dataset could be used to identify factors associated with low or declining MMR rates in US counties and help inform targeted vaccination strategies to reduce the risk of measles outbreaks.
There’s no mystery here. Elected representatives need to hear from more people who want vaccines, want to get more people vaccinated. This is a matter of political will.
My letter to reps:
I want vaccines available, promoted, available for free at the point of service for everyone, and I want to see a proper vaccine campaign to inform people of the benefits of vaccination.
Please feel free to copy or repurpose for your own letters to reps.