United States: The DC metropolitan region pediatrician discusses the potential dangers of present-day “measles parties” that seek to help children acquire virus immunity.
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Texas, along with other states, experiences active measles spread because the population maintains insufficient measles vaccination records.
Dr. Gabrina Dixon, a pediatrician at Children’s National Hospital, stated, “I think people forget we had a child recently die in 2025 of measles,” wtop.com reported.
“I always say prevention is key. You don’t want to get the illness; you want to prevent it. And the way to prevent it is with vaccination,” Dixon added.
The practice of organizing “measles parties” has reportedly not happened anywhere near the DC area but Texas where most cases are occurring has issued a warning against such gatherings.
What do the health officials say?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, measles was considered eradicated in 2000 because of extensive vaccinations.
Data shows that the vaccination rate for kindergarten kids has reached levels lower than 95% and keeps decreasing.
“You don’t have to believe what people say, but numbers do not lie, and we see that in communities where there are really low vaccination rates, people are getting measles,” as Dixon noted.
People who expose children to sick individuals to develop immunity generally hold the misconception that vaccines transmit diseases. Dixon denounced this information as completely false, according to her.
The medical professional Dixon explains that new illness cases following vaccinations typically result from the patient contracting the disease prior to vaccine effectiveness, wtop.com reported.
“It takes vaccines usually up to two weeks for your body to build a defense, to fight whatever the vaccine is trying to prevent,” Dixon stated.
The practice of exposing small children raises serious concerns when their parents stay ignorant about their complete health conditions.
Moreover, “It can lead to the death of that child because they’re immunocompromised or a really severe illness causing them to be hospitalized,” she mentioned. “The only party we should be doing is getting the vaccine.”