Experts warn that anti-vaccine rhetoric amplified by the US government under Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr could undermine global efforts to combat measles. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced in January that six European countries—including the UK, Spain, and Austria—have lost their measles elimination status, meaning the virus has been circulating continuously for over 12 months. Measles vaccination rates have fallen across Europe, with only 84% of five-year-olds in the UK receiving both doses of the MMR vaccine as of 2024.
The UK is considered “ground zero” for vaccine hesitancy, according to Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University. This stems from Andrew Wakefield’s discredited 1998 study linking the MMR vaccine to autism, which was retracted and led to his loss of medical credentials. Despite this, the debunked link has gained new traction globally, aided by Kennedy, who previously led the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense. The group continues to promote Wakefield’s claims.
“The rhetoric that happens in the United States spills over across borders to other countries,” Nuzzo said. “We live in a global ecosystem, so when they hear, well, [the vaccine is] not good enough for the Americans, maybe it’s not good for us either.” The anti-vaccine industry generates at least $36m annually, according to the Center for Countering Digital Hate. Kennedy himself received millions from Children’s Health Defense and law firms targeting vaccine manufacturers before becoming health secretary.
The US is now on the brink of losing its measles elimination status. Canada lost its status in November 2024, and Mexico’s is under threat. The Trump administration has withdrawn funding from the Global Measles and Rubella Laboratory Network (GMRLNN), a WHO-coordinated network of nearly 800 labs that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had funded since its inception. This could collapse surveillance just as measles cases surge.
Dr Alonzo Plough, chief science officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, noted that breakthrough measles cases often involve international travel and an unvaccinated child. “Viruses don’t know borders,” he said, stressing the importance of international coordination. The US Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to requests for comment.
