Alex Berenson is Wrong About Measles Too
Remember all the things about COVID he got wrong?
Alex Berenson is one of those who thinks that because he talks a lot about COVID, that makes him an expert on all things vaccines.
This time, he is wrongly attacking someone for their choice to get vaccinated and protected against measles.
Alex Berenson is Wrong About Measles Too
Wait, why does Alex ‘Wrong Answers Only’ Berenson care if someone else gets vaccinated?
Measles cases are on the rise — just about everywhere.
“Adults should also be up to date on MMR vaccinations with either 1 or 2 doses (depending on risk factors) unless they have other presumptive evidence of immunity to measles, mumps, and rubella.
One dose of MMR vaccine, or other presumptive evidence of immunity, is sufficient for most adults. Providers generally do not need to actively screen adult patients for measles immunity in non-outbreak areas in the U.S. After vaccination, it is also not necessary to test patients for antibodies to confirm immunity. There is no recommendation for a catch-up program among adults for a second dose of MMR (e.g., persons born before 1989 or otherwise).”
Routine Measles, Mumps, and Rubella Vaccination
Two people, including an unvaccinated child, are dead.
And although adults generally just need one dose of the MMR vaccine, unless they are in a high risk situation, there are some adults who do in fact need another dose now, even if they were “vaccinated against measles as a kid.”
A very small proportion of adults (less than 5%) may have received killed measles vaccine from 1963 through 1967 during childhood. The ACIP recommends re-vaccinating anyone who received measles vaccine of unknown type, inactivated measles vaccine, or further attenuated measles vaccine accompanied by IG or high-titer measles immune globulin (no longer available in the United States) during these years with 1 or 2 doses.
Routine Measles, Mumps, and Rubella Vaccination
Adults like the author of the article Berenson is attacking.
“There’s a question about the effectiveness of the measles vaccine that Americans of my generation received, however, and some vaccinated people need to be vaccinated again.”
Why I Got the Measles Vaccine at Age 63
Why not check your titer first?
Titers aren’t as accurate as people think, and you might end up needing a shot anyway. Since it is safe, with few risks, many people opt to simply get the vaccine instead of the extra step of checking titers first.
“Roughly three-quarters of Americans (76%) have visited at least one other country, including 26% who have been to five or more.”
Americans who have traveled internationally stand out in their views and knowledge of foreign affairs
Also, remember that adults who travel out of the country should also be sure that they have had a second dose of the MMR vaccine. And that is most adults.
So it has nothing to do with virtue signaling, being weirdly scared of measles, or just needing something to write about as Alex ‘Wrong Answers Only’ Berenson suggests.
What else is Berenson wrong about this time?
He says that this year’s outbreak was predictable.
“For months, legacy media outlets have tried to fan hysteria around a new American measles “epidemic.” In reality, this year’s increase is predictable. Even “Your Local Epidemiologist,” a woke Substacker, acknowledged this a week ago, explaining that “Measles cases surge every five years for reasons we don’t fully understand.””
Never let a (fake) public health crisis go to waste
That’s kind of true, but not for the reason Berenson believes.
“Prior to the introduction of measles vaccine in the early 1960's, serious measles epidemics among school-aged children occurred in the United States every 2–3 years, typically peaking in winter or spring.”
Texas and Its Measles Epidemics
Peter Hotez predicted that these large measles outbreaks would occur way back in 2016 because of the “rising numbers of nonmedical immunization exemptions across the state in combination with pockets of very low coverage in vulnerable populations…”
And he noted the traditional 2-3 year cycle we used to see, in the pre-vaccine era. A cycle that was broken once the endemic spread of measles was eliminated in the United States.
Highly endemic areas still have larger measles epidemics every 1-4 years, as the number of susceptible people build up. Cycles that can trigger outbreaks as people import measles when they travel out of the country.
But Berenson isn’t done yet…
“The worst measles epidemic in the last 40 years took place in, wait for it, 1989 and 1990, when over 45,000 Americans were infected — almost 200 times as many as have been infected so far this year. A number of children died, too.
The outbreak received modest media attention, though nothing like the hysteria that Renkl and the gang have piled on this winter… So, yeah, Renkl doesn’t know what she’s talking about… The more interesting question: Why didn’t Renkl’s pediatrician mention measles 33 years back?”
Never let a (fake) public health crisis go to waste
That’s a lot!
And not surprisingly, Berenson manages to get it all wrong!
Let’s start with why her pediatrician likely didn’t warn her about measles in 1992.
It is likely because the outbreaks were coming under control, as immunization rates were rising, cases were dropping, and we had started giving kids a second dose of the MMR vaccine for added protection!
But what about Berenson’s idea that the 1989-1991 measles outbreaks only received modest attention?
Measles was in the newspaper almost every day, often on the front page!
And was on the local and national evening news, with reports by Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings, and Connie Chung, etc.
The return of measles was a very big deal at the time.
“Sadly some parents are complacent. They mistakenly think that measles is only a rash and a few days in bed when in fact it's a dangerous disease that can result in deafness, brain damage, and even death.
The federal government has the main responsibility for ensuring that immunization programs work. One state's epidemic weight is only as good as the next state's vaccination program. Working with state and local Governments, the Centers for Disease Control should meet its stated goal of eradicating measles within the United States. Instead the C.D.C. has been forced to limit and cut back...“
Congressman Henry Waxman in the House Subcommittee on Health and the Environment
It’s a very big deal now, as we not only didn’t learn any lessons from previous epidemics, but we have allowed anti-vaccine influencers to scare more and more parents away from vaccinating and protecting their children.
My, how times have changed — they have gotten much worse.
References
Routine Measles, Mumps, and Rubella Vaccination. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/mmr/hcp/recommendations.html
Why I Got the Measles Vaccine at Age 63. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/opinion/measles-vaccine-babies.html
Americans who have traveled internationally stand out in their views and knowledge of foreign affairs. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/12/06/americans-who-have-traveled-internationally-stand-out-in-their-views-and-knowledge-of-foreign-affairs/
Texas and Its Measles Epidemics. https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002153
Current Trends Measles --- United States, 1990. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00001999.htm
Measles Epidemic. CSPAN March 11, 1991. https://www.c-span.org/program/house-committee/measles-epidemic/11669