Vaccines: Important Tools For Healthy Communities
ST. PAUL (August8, 2025) – The Minnesota Department of Health recently alerted the public about an individual with measles who visited the Mall of America. Measles is considered rare in Minnesota thanks to the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine, which is highly effective against spread—so much so that at one point it eradicated the disease from the United States.
Lower vaccinations rates, however, have allowed measles to make a comeback. The World Health Organization reports as many as 23 million children have not received their recommended childhood vaccinations. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports the number of new measles cases is higher than at any point in the last 30 years. Increasing vaccination rates can reverse that trend.
The Council’s nonprofit health plans are working closely with state officials, taking extensive and innovative steps to increase vaccination rates and supporting healthier communities. For example, we recently launched a statewide advocacy effort to inform the public about the safety and efficacy of childhood vaccinations, as well as the zero out of pocket cost associated with most appointments.
This year’s campaign, “Don’t forget to get caught up,” kicked off in May. To reach as many Minnesota families with children as possible, the campaign launched in four languages, including English, Spanish, Hmong, and Somali. In just the first month, the ads reached more than 200,000 Minnesotans and generated 800,000 impressions. This effort is in addition to our regular advocacy each fall to encourage families to schedule vaccinations as part of their back to school routine. Our advocacy is localized and designed to make a difference. However, as an important public policy issue, we also must examine why vaccinations rates are declining overall.
The U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration is engaged in a broad reexamination of federal vaccination policy. HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. has taken several steps he describes as intended to “restore public trust” in vaccines. One example comes from Secretary Kennedy’s own leadership team. Dr. Mehmet Oz serves as the administrator at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. But he’s more widely recognized as host of the “Dr. Oz Show.” In a March 2019 episode, Dr. Oz endorsed the MMR vaccine, after originally expressing some skepticism. Researchers from the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania published a study that found the popular show’s endorsement resulted in significantly more people regarding the vaccine as low-risk. While Dr. Oz made a measurable impact with his endorsement, other advocacy campaigns have often been mired in controversy. Additional studies on how these various campaigns have affected vaccinations rates would be a worthy endeavor to support future advocacy.
The recent measles alert at the Mall of America presented a high-risk scenario that, to date, has not resulted in further spread. Vaccinations certainly played an important role in that result. If vaccination rates continue to decline, however, the risk of a different outcome in the future grows. Secretary Kennedy would do well to consider the lesson from “The Dr. Oz Show” and implement a nationwide effort to improve rates. In the meantime, the Minnesota Council of Health Plans and our nonprofit members will be working hard to support Minnesotans with accurate information so they and their doctor can make the best decision regarding vaccinations.
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