Are Measles Really that Big a Deal? (Originallay aired May 1, 2019)

Guest: Sankar Swaminathan, Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Utah School of Medicine 2019 isn’t even halfway over and already this is the worst year for measles cases in 25 years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says so far 704 people have been infected –most of them were not vaccinated. There have been no deaths reported yet from measles this year, though. So, is it really that serious? Back before the vaccine was widely available, the whole Brady Bunch came down with measles and it didn’t seem so bad. The Brady kids got to skip school and play monopoly all day. I know that’s just a 1960s TV show, but it’s been circulating online as evidence that all this concern about the measles today is overblown.