Illinois measles outbreak “officially over”

Ule James remembers when there was no vaccine for measles. Growing up as a child in the 1960s, he said it was fairly common for people to experience bouts of disease from the deadly virus.

“Back then, it was like, ‘It’s just measles. All the kids get measles, who cares?'” James said.

The first measles vaccine was approved for public use in 1963, just one year before James was diagnosed with measles himself as a young boy. He said he started to experience vivid hallucinations.

“At night, I would get up and start raving and running around the house, yelling at pictures,” he explained. “The pictures’ heads would go in and out, everything would be whacko.”

It was then his parents took him to the hospital, where James ended up in a coma for three days. His parents said they only delayed getting him vaccinated because of other life priorities: mainly to move across the country. James, now more than 60 years later, said he continues to follow one “big rule” after his early childhood health scare.

“If it’s an FDA-approved vaccine, I’m going to get it because it’s going to save me and I’ll protect other people,” James said, “and that’s really critical.”

It’s the same message Illinois Department of Public Health officials relayed to people downstate earlier this year while attempting to increase vaccination rates for the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. Since it was declared to be effectively eradicated from the U.S. in 2000, measles has been identified in Illinois almost 170 times.

As America experiences its worst outbreak of measles in more than 30 years, Illinois public health officials announced July 11 that the myriad tactics IDPH employed to curb cases in southern Illinois have succeeded. Government officials announced no new cases had been identified within the state since late May.

Although the department could not immediately identify the total number of people vaccinated this year, IDPH reported the entire state of Illinois saw a nearly 50% increase in the number of individuals getting the measles vaccine in May as compared to February, including individuals of all ages, across the lifespan.

Dr. Sameer Vohra, IDPH director, said vaccines are instrumental in keeping the public safe.

“Public health, at its core, is focused on prevention,” Vohra said. “Immunization is without a doubt the most effective tool to prevent the spread of measles.”

He said the agency moved quickly to jumpstart mobile vaccination units with Wellness on Wheels, operated by Southern Illinois Healthcare, and local health departments. IDPH also coordinated with the State Board of Education to create a measles outbreak prediction dashboard for local school officials to better understand their community risk.

Vohra emphasized the modern marvel of vaccinations to prevent debilitating, or deadly, diseases.

“Vaccines are one of the greatest public health achievements,” he explained. “We don’t even bring up polio as something that we’re so fortunate, in 2025, not to think about.”

Vaccine skepticism has proliferated in recent years, resulting in fewer vaccinations across the country. The effects can be seen in the past decade of IDPH data, which has seen Illinois school vaccination rates drop from almost 98% vaccinated for measles in 2014 to just under 96% vaccinated in 2024.

Nearly all commonly provided vaccines, including chickenpox and polio, have been administered to a lesser percentage of school children in the state over the past decade.

“Right now, it’s a time where we are having to think very critically about the things that come from the federal government and the misinformation that is often spread,” Vohra said in response to a question about navigating public messaging amid U.S. health secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s general vaccine skepticism.

Sangamon County medical director Dr. Vidya Sundareshan explained how the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, originally created in the 1960s, is highly effective in providing protection against measles, mumps and rubella.

“One dose of the MMR vaccine offers 93-95% protection against measles and two doses, the protection for vaccinated individuals, exceeds 97%. As is seen in many infectious diseases and communicable diseases, communities benefitted from herd immunity,” Sundareshan said.

She stated that measles outbreaks “can be prevented” so long as the at-risk community is at least 95% vaccinated for measles. Springfield School District 186 has, on average, recorded rates of vaccination higher than that of Sangamon County and Illinois over the past decade. The district sends routine reminders to parents and students before annual immunization records are due.

Three private schools in Sangamon County have low rates of vaccination, according to IDPH’s School Vaccination Coverage Dashboard: Calvary Academy, Montessori Children’s House and Trinity Lutheran. In all, the schools have about 500 students enrolled, with the measles outbreak simulator indicating that Calvary Academy is at highest risk of an outbreak with only about 79% of the student population vaccinated against measles.

In 2021, the Springfield District 186 Board of Education requested, via a passed motion, that the State Board of Education and Department of Public Health add a COVID vaccine to the list of mandatory vaccines. So far, the list has remained unchanged.

For more information about measles, vaccines and to get vaccinated, visit dph.illinois.gov.

Dilpreet Raju is a staff writer at Illinois Times and is a Report for America corps member.

This article appears in Getting right with Native Americans.