Reject Archives – Science Poetry

What’s slippery
Not a needle
But the gap remains
When it is not reached –
A hollow
Measurement
Lost.
Year spool
Through skin map
Never marked
still
The body is waiting
Meet
Never taught
remember.
Old name
restart
In the fever chamber –
measles,
rubella,
Mumps –
They don’t knock,
Follow only
Forgotten curve.
At the door,
A tallly growing
Who can
Always.

The poem is inspired by recent research that found that 50% of children vaccination in the United States may result in 51 million measles cases within 5 years.

For decades, routine childhood vaccinations have helped protect people in the United States from hidden, rubella and polio – diseases that once led to a wide range of diseases, disabilities and deaths. However, vaccination rates are starting to decline, driven by misinformation, vaccine hesitation and proposed policy changes. This decline puts a tough public health escalation at risk. If fewer children are vaccinated, outbreaks of previously eliminated diseases may occur, with severe impacts on personal health and health systems.

This study uses computer simulations to explore what might happen in the United States if childhood vaccination rates continue to decline. The results are obvious. Even at current levels, measles may become common again. If the vaccination rate drops by half, the model can predict over 50 million measles cases, millions of rubella and polio cases, more than 10 million hospitalizations and more than 150,000 deaths over 25 years. These findings highlight the urgent need to maintain and where possible vaccine coverage. Without it, preventable diseases can recover and cause pain that has not been seen in generations.