To the editor: I appreciate your informative piece on the complexities of measles and its long-term impacts (“Immune amnesia: Why even mild measles infections can lead to serious disease later,” April 1). Efforts like these are essential, even if some individuals remain skeptical. During my research into my father’s immigrant heritage at an archive in northern Germany, I was taken aback by the death records, or Sterberegister, from the late 1800s. There were so many young children whose deaths were attributed to measles, marked simply as “Ges. an Masern.”
Bob Wieting, Simi Valley
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To the editor: I often wish the L.A. Times could provide some reassurance to parents distressed by the measles outbreak. Resources like the Centers for Disease Control and the New England Journal of Medicine offer guidance on managing severe cases. For instance, administering Vitamin A, under medical supervision, has been shown to lessen the severity in children. If The Times could delve into the accuracy of this information, perhaps it could help ease the fears your front-page article seems to amplify.
Jill Chapin, Santa Monica
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To the editor: Measles was declared eliminated in 2000. Why not continue improving vaccination rates to permanently rid ourselves of it? Yet, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is engaging with alternatives like Vitamin A, budesonide, clarithromycin, and cod liver oil. Physicians argue that this sort of focus may detract from vaccination campaigns, and unfortunately, misleading information about these treatments is already spreading online.
Richard A. French, Pasadena
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To the editor: The rising count of unvaccinated children is deeply concerning. Should a child who has not been vaccinated die from measles, the responsible parents ought to face legal consequences for child abuse and manslaughter. It’s unjust that children suffer due to their parents’ ill-informed choices.
Mel Frohman, Los Angeles
