Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease spread through direct physical contact or inhalation. It is caused by the rubeola virus, which induces severe weakening of the immune system through infection of macrophages and dendritic cells that enable access to the lymphatic system. Before a preventative vaccine was developed, measles would cause massive epidemics to sprout every 2–3 years in different regions worldwide. In the United States, 3-4 million people would become infected each year and 400-500 people would die (“Measles”, 2019). But, thanks to large-scale vaccination campaigns and legal measures to require immunization for all children attending school, measles was eventually declared to be eliminated from the US in 2000 (Cnn, 2019).

Today, measles is prevented with the administration of a combination vaccine, which provides protection against 3 diseases: Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR). An initial dose is given between 12-15 months of age and a second dose between ages 4-6. One dose of MMR vaccine is approximately 93% effective at averting measles while two doses are approximately 97% effective (Kwong, 2019). Teenagers and adults are also recommended to be updated on their MMR vaccination status.

The proposed strategy fulfills five key objectives: healthcare engagement, social mobilization, mass media promotion, comprehensive education, and accessibility. Healthcare engagement employs pediatricians in building trust towards vaccine safety. Parent objections must be addressed with empathy and personalized communication. This can change the perspectives of 30-47% of vaccine-hesitant parents (Edwards, et al., 2016)

The social mobilization objective utilizes role model influence. People who unite communities like religious leaders can debunk misinformation. Celebrities, social media personalities, and others can use their platform to create emotional appeal among broad audiences with powerful story-telling and hashtags. For example, #metoo was used over 19 million times and it increased harassment claim filing at 54%-84% of companies within a year after a tweet by actress Alyssa Milano (Anderson, et al. 2018). Similarly, mass media promotion would make parents more prone to vaccinate their children from bandwagon.

Education can further reduce NMEs by addressing health literacy, one of the top vaccine hesitancy determinants (White, 2012). Complex information on vaccines should be made easily comprehensible through visuals. Additionally, campaigns should emphasize discreditation of the vaccine and autism connection. If it were common knowledge that the research linking the two involved severe procedural errors, undisclosed financial conflicts of interest, and ethical violations that led to the incarceration of its author, then more people would seek credible information sources.

Sustainability of herd immunity can be ensured using educational interventions. Taking a bottom-up management style, the CDC can advocate for comprehensive health education that includes disease prevention within the 8th grade/higher education curriculum while school boards retain autonomy to implement their own strategies.

Furthermore, airlines can give travelers to Miami questionnaires on the locations that they visited and measles symptoms observances. This would allow the CDC to disseminate vaccination information and order mandatory treatment for people affected by measles. Program evaluation would compare vaccination rates with 95% herd immunity benchmark post-implementation.