Measles Vaccine

About Measles Vaccine

John Enders developed the measles vaccine, licensed in 1963. Enders had previously won the Nobel Prize for cultivating poliovirus in tissue culture. The measles vaccine was later combined with mumps and rubella vaccines to create the MMR vaccine in 1971. Before the vaccine, virtually every child contracted measles. Before widespread vaccination, measles caused an estimated 2.6 million deaths globally each year. The vaccine reduced measles cases by over 99 percent in developed countries. Maurice Hilleman, who developed the MMR vaccine at Merck, is often credited with saving more lives than any other medical scientist of the 20th century. Measles outbreaks continue to occur in communities with low vaccination rates. The virus is so contagious that population immunity of around 95 percent is generally cited as needed to prevent sustained spread.