this post was submitted on 10 Feb 2026
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Public Health
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Measles is scary because its death rate is in that controversy-brewing sweet spot, between "terrifying" and "innocuously endemic." It can ruin the health of a whole lot of people, yet plausibly seem like no big deal to a layman, who will nod along when a demagogue politicizes quarantine measures.
It's also horrifically, unbelievably contagious. It makes COVID-19 seem primitive. In fact, it reminds me of the optimal strategy in the old Pandemic video game, where you evolve the virus to be maximally contagious without triggering travel restrictions from dramatic symptoms.
...So yeah. It's like the perfect disease to take advantage of the current US political environment. The one saving grace is that a whole bunch of folks are vaccinated, and no volume of Fox News or podcasters can undo it for them.