EPISODE · Jul 23, 2026 · 23 MIN
Making Measles Great Again
from Hawk Podcasts · host Hawk
The geography tells the story. South Carolina saw more than a thousand cases centered on an insular religious community in Spartanburg County. Utah is now the epicenter with 441 cases across 22 of its 29 counties, tied partly to an FLDS community, though state officials point to statewide erosion of coverage rather than any single enclave. National kindergarten MMR coverage has fallen from 95.2 percent in 2020 to 92.5 percent in 2025, below the herd immunity threshold, and religious exemptions have risen roughly fivefold since 2010. The heart of the video is Amy Maxmen's Wired piece, in which six Utah pediatricians describe treating these children: the labored breathing, the barking cough, the spinal taps to check for meningitis. Hawk is candid about his own frustration with parents who declined vaccination and then beg doctors to save their child, and he keeps returning to the fact that the kids had no say. SUPPORT & CONNECT WITH HAWK - Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mdg650hawk - Hawk's Merch Store: https://hawkmerchstore.com - Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mdg650hawk7thacct - Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hawkeyewhackamole - Connect on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/mdg650hawk.bsky.social - Connect on Substack: https://mdg650hawk.substack.com - Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hawkpodcasts - Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mdg650hawk - Connect on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mdg650hawk ALL HAWK PODCASTS INFO - Additional Content Available Here: https://www.hawkpodcasts.com https://www.youtube.com/@hawkpodcasts - Listen to Hawk Podcasts On Your Favorite Platform: Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3RWeJfy Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/422GDuL YouTube: https://youtube.com/@hawkpodcasts iHeartRadio: https://ihr.fm/47vVBdP Pandora: https://bit.ly/48COaTB
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What this episode covers
The United States has logged more than 2,260 confirmed measles cases in 2026 through July 23rd, nearly matching all of 2025, putting this on pace to be the worst year since measles was declared eliminated here in 2000. Hawk walks through the data and explains what losing elimination status actually means. Roughly 90 percent of cases trace to communities with low vaccination coverage.
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Making Measles Great Again
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