We've spoken on this show a handful of times about, you know, the anti-vax movement and our worries that things like measles might come back if people don't take their vaccinations seriously.

Well, it's here.

In the first two months of this year, there have been more than a thousand confirmed measles cases across the United States.

Measles cases continue to rise in Washington. So far this year, the state has reported 26 confirmed cases.

That's more than double the total number of cases reported in 2025.

New state data shows Iowa's measles vaccination rate is below the level, experts say say is needed for strong community protection.

According to the Alabama Department of Public Health, a measles outbreak in Alabama is no longer a matter of if, but when.

Measles exposures are now confirmed in all three triangle cities and some towns and cities around them as well.

Measles continues to spread in the U.S. with South Carolina currently experiencing the biggest

outbreak it's seen in decades.

And just the past year, the U.S. has seen more measles cases than it has in the previous

25 years.

In the face of this breaking news that amongst all the other news right now isn't getting the most attention.

I wanted to talk to someone who understands what all this means, whether we're safe, what we can

do for ourselves and others, and how to just process that there's this thing we got rid of that

kills people, but it's back.

My name is Olivia Zarela. I have a doctor in public health and a master's in public health.

I actually started working at Emory University during my master's in mosquito-borne diseases.

So like Zika, Dengue, West Nile is a mosquito-borne disease. And then I ended up

shifting to working on COVID-19 related work because I came out to Colorado for my doctor

degree in 2019 and then, you know, the world shut down shortly after. So things shifted to work with

airborne viruses such as COVID. and my dissertation was on pandemic

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