May 31, 2014
Coverage of the CDC report of 288 confirmed cases of measles in the US this year received almost universal coverage with nearly all sources quoting the CDC’s Dr. Anne Schuchat urging people to get vaccinated. ABC World News (5/29, lead story, 3:10, Sawyer) reported, “An old enemy is back: the CDC has issued an urgent new warning about measles,” adding, “remember, this is a virus that can take lives.” Dr. Richard Besser, former acting director of the CDC and ABC’s Chief Medical Editor, added, “Measles is wildly infectious,” and the number of cases this year is “the most since the virus was eliminated in the US back in 2000.” Besser pointed out that the Amish in Ohio and an area in San Diego both are home to unvaccinated residents, who acquired measles while traveling abroad. Besser added: “I just talked to the CDC and they’re very concerned about this.”
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