It doesn’t take long for a single case of the measles to turn into a genuine outbreak.

In Ohio, the number of cases in Ashtabula County alone in early April had grown by 11 in a week. There were seven in Knox County and one each in Allen and Holmes counties.

It takes even less times, it seems, for irresponsible political rhetoric and misinformed (or just plain dishonest) social media nonsense to spread in a way that is just as dangerous.

By mid-April, the U.S. has more than double the number of measles cases it saw in all of 2024.

There are outbreaks in Ohio, Texas, New Mexico, Indiana, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Those are the states where the spread is now being labeled an outbreak.

Herd immunity is waning in this country, as childhood vaccination rates decline. That improbable shift came with the rise in parents and guardians giving in to truly bizarre “political” and social media fear.

It’s not too late to do something about it, however. There’s been an effective way to prevent measles since 1963. But it only works if enough people are vaccinated against this potentially deadly disease.

There’s no excuse for allowing this disease to make a return.