On the Failure to Eradicate Measles

IN 1967, at the American Public Health Association meeting in San Francisco,1 a paper was presented that announced the possibility of complete eradication of measles by the end of that year. Six years later, and some 10 years after the highly effective live measles-virus vaccines were licensed in the United States, we are still faced with a measles problem of epidemic proportions. There is almost uniform agreement that measles is still a problem because of a failure to vaccinate children against the disease.2 , 3 A brief look at the measles vaccination program over the last 10 years will prove useful in . . .