03/03/2026
Vaccines save lives. They also save healthcare costs…
An alarming new report calculates the price tag for the U.S. if measles vaccination rates continue to fall.
If measles vaccination rates continue to drop just 1% annually for the next five years, the cost to the U.S. could reach $1.5 billion a year, according to a new report from the Yale School of Public Health.
Armed with existing county-level vaccination coverage data, Yale researchers used mathematical models to calculate predicted increases in measles cases, hospitalizations and their associated medical and societal costs.
Based on their projections, $41.1 million would be needed each year to cover patients’ basic medical needs, including health insurance, and $947 million for public health response efforts such as surveillance and contact tracing. Lost productivity in the workforce, the report found, could reach $510.4 million each year.
Read more: nbcnews.app.link/l5lCfzpEb1b
