According to a June 10, 2025, U.S. Measles Tracker Report1, there have been 1171 cases of measles so far this year. Of those cases, 94% were unvaccinated. Two children and one adult have died. In March, I had lunch with an unvaccinated granddaughter who had never heard of measles, didn’t know that it can be a deadly disease, or that we have now exceeded the total number of cases (285) reported in all of 2024. She had never heard of polio or an iron lung.
At this year’s 4th of July neighborhood breakfast, I met my new friend, Dr. Bruce Jasper, a neuropsychologist. After explaining why my husband wasn’t with me (he died 3 years ago of Alzheimer’s) and his wife wasn’t with him (the breakfast food didn’t fit into her healthy lifestyle), we had a very interesting discussion about lecanemab, the latest FDA approved drug purported to slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s, and how its effects compare with those of intensive lifestyle changes.