My Daughter Had Measles in 2013. It Killed Her in 2023

Rebecca Archer isn't the first parent to make a plea to other parents to vaccinate their children against measles, but the shape of her argument is somewhat different. In a New York Times opinion piece, the Salford, England, mother recounts how her 5-month-old daughter, Renae, caught measles during a 2013 outbreak in Manchester that followed a since-discredited study that had pushed down vaccination rates. Renae, who was too young to receive the vaccine (she was vaccinated later, on schedule), seemed to recover within a week, as Archer assumed she would. "What I didn't know was that measles can cause long-term complications"—complications that would kill her daughter a decade later.

At age 10, Renae developed seizures, balance problems, hallucinations, and rapidly worsening neurological symptoms. Tests eventually revealed subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, a rare, incurable brain disorder that can appear years after a measles infection. Archer describes watching her child, who at age 8 was assessed as having the reading level of a teen, lose the ability to walk, talk, and eat. She died nine days before she would have turned 11. Archer uses her family's story to argue that measles is far more dangerous than many realize. "It's hard to tell Renae's story, but I can hear her saying, 'Go on, Mom.' It's the only thing I can do." Read the full piece here.