Samoa's Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, pictured in 2018, pleaded with the public not to turn to "alternative cures" for measles. Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
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Measles Outbreak Kills Dozens Of Kids On Samoa And Infects Thousands More
New research illuminates how the measles virus may suppress the immune system after an infection. James Cavallini/Science Source hide caption
The measles virus is highly contagious. If someone with measles coughs or sneezes, the virus in those droplets can survive for two hours afterward — infecting about 90% of the people lacking immunity who pass through that space. Erik Witsoe/EyeEm/Getty Images hide caption
Band-aid at the ready, Sara McRae, a medical assistant at Unity Health Care, heads in to vaccinate a pediatric patient. Selena Simmons-Duffin/NPR hide caption
The Other Reasons Kids Aren't Getting Vaccinations: Poverty And Health Care Access
Many people might not be aware of what types of vaccines they need as they get older. Here, an adult gets a flu shot in Jacksonville, Fla. Rick Wilson/AP images for Flu + You hide caption
A sign at the Rockland County Health Department in Pomona, N.Y., explains the local state of emergency caused by a measles outbreak. Seth Wenig/AP hide caption
A nurse prepares the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine at the Rockland County Health Department in Haverstraw, N.Y. Several measles outbreaks in New York state are contributing to this year's unusually high measles rates. Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
More than 285 cases of the measles have been reported in New York since October. Nearly all are associated with people who live in the Williamsburg or Borough Park neighborhoods of Brooklyn. Seth Wenig/AP hide caption
A measles vaccination campaign in Manila, Philippines, this year. The measles vaccine is believed to confer an additional benefit beyond immunity to the measles virus. Vaccinations against other diseases — polio, tuberculosis, typhoid — may also confer an unintended protection. Alejandro Ernesto/Getty Images hide caption