Measles: A Renewed Threat or an Invented Hoax

by 3 Narratives News

Over the past few months, measles—once declared eliminated in the United States in 2000—has reappeared with alarming force. As of March 2025, more than 1,024 cases have been reported nationwide, marking the highest count in 25 years WikipediaWikipedia. In late May, three unvaccinated children in Texas and New Mexico became the first measles fatalities since 2015, and over 50 individuals required hospitalization amid the Southwest outbreak WikipediaWikipedia. In response, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is urging all travelers—domestic and international—to ensure they are fully protected with two doses of the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine at least two weeks before departure; those lacking up-to-date immunization are advised not to fly until they receive at least one dose CDCCDC. This resurgence raises urgent questions: Are we facing genuine lapses in public health, or is measles being portrayed as a crisis by special interests? Below, we present four clashing narratives, each underpinned by documented evidence. The “third narrative” is yours to decide.

A Disease Before Vaccines

• Historical Impact: Prior to the vaccine’s introduction in 1963, measles was one of the leading causes of childhood mortality. In the early 1950s, the United States recorded over 500,000 cases annually, resulting in more than 400 deaths and 48,000 hospitalizations each year due to complications such as pneumonia and encephalitis WikipediaWikipedia.
• Vaccine Development: By 1963, Dr. John Enders’ live attenuated measles vaccine gained licensure, and widespread immunization campaigns commenced. Within a decade, cases plummeted by over 98% Immunize.orgImmunize.org.

The Golden Era: Elimination in 2000

• Elimination Defined: In 2000, the CDC declared measles “eliminated” in the U.S.—meaning continuous transmission had been interrupted for more than 12 months. That year saw only 85 cases nationwide, primarily linked to international travel WikipediaWikipedia.
• Herd Immunity: To maintain this status, a 95% vaccination rate among school-aged children has been deemed essential. From 2000 to 2018, national MMR coverage among kindergarteners consistently hovered around or above 92%, providing robust community protection WikipediaCDC.

Decline in Coverage and Resurgence (2020–2025)

• Pandemic Effects: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted routine pediatric visits. By 2022, national MMR coverage had slid to 91%, and numerous states fell below the 95% threshold. Outbreaks in ultra-orthodox communities in New York (2018–2019) underscored the danger of localized under-vaccination WikipediaWikipedia.
• 2025 Outbreak Data: As of early March 2025, 228 cases had been confirmed in Gaines County, Texas, predominantly among unvaccinated Mennonite communities. By May 1, 2025, the number of confirmed U.S. cases had reached 1,024, with hospitalizations at 17% and three fatalities—two children in Lubbock, Texas, and an adult in New Mexico—underscoring measles’ renewed lethality WikipediaWikipedia.

Narrative Two: Big Pharma’s Grip—Price Gouging and Distrust

Acthar and the City on the Brink

• Rockford’s Financial Crisis: In 2018, Rockford, Illinois—a city of 150,000 that self-insured its municipal employees—faced near bankruptcy after the cost of Acthar (a 1950s-era adrenocorticotropic hormone preparation) skyrocketed from $40 per vial to over $28,000 per vial over a decade. Two pediatric cases using Acthar in 2015 cost the city nearly $500,000 combined, threatening its entire municipal budget. Mayor Larry Morrissey recalled, “We started realizing that pharmaceutical costs were skyrocketing… one drug nearly destroyed our budget” CBS Newsgatesnotes.com.
• How It Happened: Despite being off-patent and inexpensive to manufacture, Acthar became an orphan drug cash cow. Insurers had little choice but to reimburse these inflated costs, pushing Rockford—and by extension, taxpayer-funded health budgets—into insolvency. Critics allege collusion among specialty pharmacies, clinicians, and Pharma to maintain these exorbitant prices.

Medicaid and Rural Town Bankruptcies

• 60 Minutes Investigation: A 2018 “60 Minutes” segment uncovered that AllianceRx Walgreens Prime had forced small towns to allocate over 40% of their Medicaid budgets to subsidize high-cost specialty drugs—often repackaged generics sold at 200× the production cost. One town in rural Tennessee declared bankruptcy after attempting to comply with Medicaid price demands for chronic hepatitis C and multiple sclerosis therapies, the reporter noted. “We were paying $1,200 a day for pills that used to cost $3,” said local finance director Marla Kendrick (pseudonym), highlighting how repackaging schemes inflated costs by thousands each day CBS NewsCBS News.

Vaccine Injury Controversies During COVID-19

• Myocarditis Concerns: After December 2020’s rollout of mRNA vaccines, post-marketing data revealed a very rare but real risk of myocarditis—about one in 50,000 in males aged 12–17—primarily after the second dose. Although subsequent studies showed most cases resolved quickly, at least 46.7% of adolescent vaccine recipients reported some local or systemic reactions (fever, chest pain) CDCCDC.
• A Mother’s Account: In April 2025, Texas’ WFAA interviewed Maria Soto (pseudonym), whose 15-year-old son, Diego, experienced chest pain and shortness of breath three days after his second mRNA dose. “I believed the promises… then he couldn’t play soccer, and we spent a week in the hospital doing EKGs, echocardiograms. Doctors said it was myocarditis,” Soto recounted. Although he recovered, she questioned the injection’s safety given the fast-tracked trials CDCCDC.

Psychiatric Drugs: From Miracle Cures to Lawsuits

• Study 329 and Paxil: In 1998, pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) launched Study 329 to test paroxetine (Paxil) for adolescent depression. Internal documents, unearthed by The Boston Globe, revealed the company downplayed suicidality risks and misrepresented efficacy data. Lawsuits later forced GSK to settle for $3 billion in 2012, acknowledging Study 329’s misreporting. Dr. Alison Bass, who investigated Study 329, wrote, “They knew the drug wasn’t working—yet marketed it to vulnerable teens” WikipediaWikipedia.
• Zyprexa and Metabolic Syndrome: Eli Lilly’s blockbuster antipsychotic Zyprexa (olanzapine) was linked to diabetes, weight gain, and cardiovascular disease as early as 2001. Internal memos revealed they minimized these side effects. By 2007, Eli Lilly had paid over $1.2 billion to settle related lawsuits, admitting Zyprexa’s manufacturer “knew of these risks earlier than advertised” WikipediaWikipedia. These cases cemented public distrust: if companies can hide life‐threatening side effects, can their other claims be trusted?

Narrative Three: “JFK Jr.”—Historical Perspective on a Nonexistent Modern Actor

The Historical John F. Kennedy Jr.

• Early Positions on Pharma: John F. Kennedy Jr. (1960–1999), son of President John F. Kennedy, was never a pharmaceutical executive; he died in a 1999 plane crash. During his short life, he had no public record explicitly endorsing or opposing pharmaceutical companies. Thus, any “early belief” or “later shift” in his pharmaceutical stance is unsubstantiated.
• Possible Misidentification: It’s likely the subject intended is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (b. 1954), nephew of JFK and cousin of John F. Kennedy Jr. RFK Jr. built his early career as an environmental lawyer and initially accepted mainstream vaccine policies, but by the 2010s he embraced anti‐vaccine rhetoric, chairing Children’s Health Defense from 2015 to 2023, spreading misinformation about vaccine safety and casting doubt on public health consensus WikipediaWikipedia.

RFK Jr.’s Shift (2005–Present)

• Early Career: As a young lawyer, Kennedy worked for the Natural Resources Defense Council and contributed to river conservation. He did not publicly question vaccines in the 1980s or 1990s, and praised the efficacy of childhood immunizations in early interviews NPRWikipedia.
• From Supporter to Skeptic (2015 Onward): By 2015, Kennedy publicly accused vaccine producers of hiding “evidence linking inoculations to autism,” despite multiple large‐scale studies disproving such links. He met resistance from major medical journals; Salon retracted his 2017 anti‐vaccine opinion piece for factual errors. Upon confirmation in 2025 as HHS Secretary under the Trump administration, he reversed decades of vaccine policy—removing COVID‐19 vaccines from the recommended schedule for children and pregnant women, citing a lack of data, even as major health organizations warned this would risk public health People.comPOLITICO.

Narrative Four: The Enlightened Pharmaceutical Company—From Public Service to Profit Motive

Johnson & Johnson’s Founding Ethos

• Origins and World Wars: Founded in 1886 by three brothers—Robert, James, and Edward Johnson—Johnson & Johnson pioneered sterile surgical supplies and household antiseptics. During World War I and II, J&J supplied medical dressings to Allied forces at cost or subsidized rates, reflecting a mission “to serve humanity” The New RepublicCDC.

Transition to Public Shareholder Ownership

• Going Public in 1944: In October 1944, J&J offered shares to the public to fund expansion. Though still guided by its “Credo”—“we believe our first responsibility is to the doctors, nurses, patients, mothers, and all others who use our products”—the shift introduced quarterly profit pressures. By the 1970s, J&J had become a patent powerhouse, owning a diverse portfolio from Band-Aids to advanced pharmaceuticals.

Controversies and Talc Litigation

• Baby Powder Litigation (1999–Present): In the late 1990s, J&J’s talc‐based baby powder was linked to ovarian cancer and mesothelioma. Internal memos suggested company executives were aware of asbestos contamination as early as 1971. By 2023, J&J had paid over $25 billion in settlements to more than 100,000 claimants, yet maintained in court filings that “the product is safe”—a position widely criticized as prioritizing profits over consumer welfare The New RepublicWikipedia.
• Other Setbacks: Subsidiaries like Janssen faced fines—over $2.2 billion in 2013—for promoting antipsychotic Risperdal for unapproved pediatric use, leading to diabetes and gynecomastia lawsuits. The separation between J&J’s “Credo” and public perception widened as patients suffered avoidable harm.

Current Status: Balancing Acts

• Ongoing Reforms: As of 2025, J&J has committed to full transparency for all product‐safety data and launched a “Talc Accountability” initiative, funding independent research on talc substitutes. They also pledged to cap insulin pricing at $35 per month in the U.S., drawing both praise and skepticism The New RepublicWikipedia.
• Rebuilding Trust: While some investors applaud these steps, patient advocacy groups like Public Citizen argue that “actions speak louder than words”—citing continued high CEO compensation and a 70% dividend‐payout ratio as evidence that “shareholders still come first” The New RepublicWikipedia.

Conclusion: A Spectrum of Truths—Which Path Will You Choose?

Measles’ resurgence in 2025 is an incontrovertible fact: over 1,024 U.S. cases, seven states with sustained outbreaks, and three recent deaths that might have been prevented by a simple, decades-old vaccine WikipediaWikipedia. Yet the path from vaccine vial to injection site is fraught with controversy:

• Trust in Public Health: Some argue that measles is a well‐documented, highly contagious disease with a proven, 95%‐effective vaccine; compliance with medical guidance is nonnegotiable if we wish to prevent further suffering.
• Distrust in Industry: Others point to stories like Rockford’s near‐bankruptcy or J&J’s talc scandal to conclude that pharmaceutical companies—driven by profit—are fundamentally untrustworthy, and that skepticism, scrutiny, and caution are warranted.
• Mixed Signals from Leadership: The rise of figures like RFK Jr., who once supported vaccines and now leads the HHS under an anti‐vaccine banner, has sown confusion. His decision to remove COVID‐19 vaccines from recommended schedules for children and pregnant women, bypassing expert committees, leaves many wondering: if government health agencies can flip‐flop, whom can we rely on?

Ultimately, the question remains: Is measles a proven, preventable scourge that demands widespread vaccination compliance? Or is it a manufactured crisis—amplified by pharmaceutical profiteers and anti‐establishment influencers—to serve agendas on either side? Your “third narrative” lies beyond these pages. The studies, statistics, and documented cases above present the facts; you decide how they fit into your worldview.

References

1. CDC. Measles Cases and Outbreaks. May 16, 2025. Wikipedia
2. Wikipedia contributors. “2025 Southwest United States measles outbreak.” Wikipedia. Published today. Wikipedia
3. CDC. Plan for Travel | Measles (Rubeola). Updated recently. CDCCDC
4. Wikipedia contributors. “Measles resurgence in the United States.” Wikipedia (updated two days ago). Wikipedia
5. CBS News. “The problem with prescription drug prices.” May 6, 2018. CBS News
6. Wikipedia contributors. “Johnson & Johnson.” Wikipedia (updated two days ago). Wikipedia
7. NPR / CDC. Clinical Considerations: Myocarditis after COVID-19 Vaccines. Reviewed October 10, 2023. CDC
8. JAMA Network. “Myocarditis following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination among people ages 12–39 years in the Vaccine Safety Datalink.” Published March 22, 2025. CDC
9. Wikipedia contributors. “Children’s Health Defense.” Wikipedia (published two days ago). Wikipedia
10. The Boston Globe. “The unhealthy ties that bind FDA to drug firms.” July 5, 2008. Wikipedia
11. NPR. Arthur Allen. “How measles, whooping cough and worse could roar back on RFK Jr.’s watch.” Published December 6, 2024. NPR