约翰霍普金斯大学医学院生物医学工程，计算机科学和生物统计学教授Steven Salzberg说，最新麻疹疫情的发生是因为没有接种疫苗的人群越来越多造成的。

        他补充道，反对儿童接种疫苗的运动是错误的，尽管有充足的科学证据表明疫苗是有效的，但是他们无休止地重复了各种错误的声明，如疫苗引发自闭症。”

        他继续补充道，在过去的15年里，数十个涉及数百万人的研究充分证明疫苗的任何成分都与自闭症无关，疫苗不仅安全，也许是人类文明史中最伟大的公共卫生成就。

        教授和Schuchat博士均指出，我们不应低估麻疹的严重性。1/10的小儿感染麻疹后发生耳部感染，这可能导致听力丧失，约1/20发展为肺炎。在此麻疹疫情暴发之际，一季度1/4的感染者已被送往医院。

        博士在新闻发布会上说，今年的新闻应答发出警告，麻疹仍在进入美国，未接种疫苗人群可能会感染病毒。

        因此，全国疾病预防控制中心和卫生保健专业人士呼吁所有人确保他们接种过麻疹疫苗。Schuchat博士说，许多人认为麻疹消失了，且自己和子女均没有接种疫苗的家长应引起警惕，麻疹疫情仍在蔓延，甚至可能会越发严重。MMR疫苗是安全有效的，高度推荐使用。

        MMR vaccine: 'safe, effective and highly recommended

        'Writing in an article for Forbes, Steven Salzberg, a professor of biomedical engineering, computer science and biostatistics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD, says this latest measles epidemic has been "fueled by growing enclaves of unvaccinated people."

        "Anti-vaxxers have been relentless in the efforts to spread misinformation," he adds. "Despite overwhelming scientific evidence that vaccines are beneficial, they endlessly repeat a variety false claims, such as vaccines cause autism."

        "Over the past 15 years, dozens of studies involving hundreds of thousands of people have shown convincingly that neither vaccines nor any of the ingredients in them are linked to autism," he continues. "Vaccines are not only safe, but they are perhaps the greatest public health success in the history of civilization."

        Both Prof. Salzburg and Dr. Schuchat note that we should not underestimate how serious measles can be. Around 1 in 10 children with measles develop ear infections, which can lead to hearing loss, and around 1 in 20 develop pneumonia. In this outbreak alone, a quarter of infected individuals have been hospitalized as a result.

        "The news this year is concerning and serves as a warning that measles is still coming into the United States and that unvaccinated people can get exposed," said Dr. Schuchat in a press briefing.

        "These outbreaks the past couple of years have been much harder to control when the virus reaches communities where numbers of people have not been vaccinated and, of course, when the virus comes into the country and exposing people at large venues where many people gather, the chances of exposure are greater," she added.

        As such, the CDC and health care professionals across the country are calling for all individuals to ensure they receive the measles vaccination. Dr. Schuchat said:

        "I want to make sure that parents who think that measles is gone and haven't made sure that they or their children are vaccinated are aware that measles is still around and it can be serious. And that MMR vaccine is safe and effective and highly recommended."

        Whether Dr. Schuchat's reassurance that the MMR vaccine is safe will encourage increased vaccination coverage going forward is unclear. But Prof. Salzburg says it is possible the measles epidemic itself will change people's views about vaccination.

        "Perhaps the Disneyland epidemic will finally convince parents, schools, and state legislatures that they need to insist that children get vaccinated before going to school," he wrote in Forbes. "Perhaps it will also convince parents to stop listening to nonsense, and choose wisely by getting their children vaccinated against measles. We won this battle before, and we can win it again."