Dive Brief:

• The University of California may start requiring incoming students to be vaccinated following cases of measles reported on three campuses in the state.
• Overall, more than 90 people have contracted measles in California, including students at Moorpark College, California State University at Channel Islands, and California State University at Long Beach.
• About half of the states require college students to have measles vaccinations, Inside Higher Ed reported.

Dive Insight:

Hard to believe this has become an issue of concern in a modern, educated society, but the almost-eradicated disease is making a comeback, thanks in part to the anti-vaccination movement. Hopefully, higher ed institutions and policy makers will close vaccination requirement loopholes quickly. The discussion behind the proposed UC vaccination requirement began well before the most recent outbreak. The proposal would require incoming students in 2017 to have their shots for measles, mumps, rubella, chicken pox, meningococcus, and tetanus. Currently, the University of California requires only a hepatitis B vaccination. Measles is very contagious — about 90% percent of people who come in contact with a measles-infected person will catch it, if they haven’t been immunized.