What happened in early 1990 to cause a minor outbreak?
Public health historians partially attribute the outbreak to budget cuts during President Ronald Reagan’s administration that affected federal funds directed toward immunization and public health initiatives.
“There was just less White House support for childhood immunization,” says Elena Conis, an associate professor at the University of California, Berkeley, where she specializes in medical history.
Immunization rates peaked in the early 1980s because of investment during the prior administration of President Jimmy Carter. There was just one death attributed to measles in 1984, the lowest number ever recorded by the CDC. But as federal investment didn’t keep up with inflation or with increases in the cost of the vaccine, immunization levels crept downward, particularly in areas where parents couldn’t afford vaccinations.
