With a longtime vaccine skeptic serving as the country’s top health official, the movement is likely to make further inroads. The U.S. is on track to surpass 1,000 measles cases this year as the viral illness — once so rare that most young doctors don’t recognize the telltale rash — makes an alarming comeback.
The outbreak, which has spread to 29 states as of May 1 and claimed three lives, hasn’t stopped some local lawmakers from considering or implementing policies that could make it even easier for parents to opt out of school vaccination requirements for their children.