Maria Godoy
Appearances
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
Okay, so the U.S. declared measles eliminated in 2000, and that just means there's not ongoing transmission for greater than 12 months in an area. But the U.S. has reported measles cases every year. It's usually unvaccinated people, you know, who are bringing measles back from traveling abroad. We see these all the time. We've seen that this year in Alaska and Maryland, where I live.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
An outbreak is different. It's when the virus is spreading locally. And right now, the virus is spreading in remote areas of West Texas and New Mexico. The concern is that you might have someone who is sick and then they travel to another area where vaccination rates are low and they could potentially seed another outbreak there. OK. And at that point, how do you stop that from happening?
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
So measles is the most contagious infectious disease known to man. It's more contagious than Ebola, than polio, than chickenpox. It's so contagious that in a world where no one's vaccinated, one person sick with measles could go on to infect 18 others on average. And it's airborne, which means these infectious particles can linger in the air for up to two hours.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
So if you have a sick person walk into a room, cough, leave, and then an hour later someone comes in, they could potentially get infected and pass it on to others. The other thing is you're infectious from about four days before you develop that telltale red measles rash until four days after. So that's, you know, eight days really where you could be spreading it to others.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
Now, the good news is the measles vaccine is very safe and highly effective. Two doses of the vaccine is 97 percent effective, which, yeah. And you need high vaccination rates in a community so that there's no one vulnerable to measles. And so the virus has really nowhere to go and spread.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
It depends on which part of the federal government you're talking about. So the CDC has issued a measles alert and, you know, asked doctors to be on the lookout for people with fevers and the red rashes. It's sent vaccines to Texas. And it says unequivocally vaccination is the best defense against measles.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
But when it comes to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Health and Human Services Secretary, he wrote an editorial piece for Fox and he's been on Fox in an interview. He has said vaccines protect individuals from measles and, you know, they contribute to community immunity. But he's also called vaccination a personal choice and he didn't outright urge people to get vaccinated.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
The other thing he said was that good nutrition is a best defense against chronic and infectious diseases, which, again, the public health line has long been that when it comes to measles, vaccination is absolutely the best defense.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
The other thing he's done that has puzzled public health experts I've talked to is he's focused on treatments like vitamin A rather than stressing vaccination. Wait, vitamin A?
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
Okay, so this is not completely without a kernel of truth. Vitamin A does have a role in the treatment of measles in that there are studies dating back decades, usually from low and middle income countries, that show that when you give vitamin A to kids who are malnourished and deficient in vitamin A, it can reduce the risk of dying from measles.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
And it can also help prevent complications like blindness from measles. So the American Academy of Pediatrics does recommend giving two doses of vitamin A to kids sick with measles to help prevent those complications. But that is not the same thing as saying that vitamin A prevents or protects you against measles. Exactly. Right. It can't do that.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
But the concern here is that, you know, parents might hear that and think that. And in fact, there is misinformation going around online suggesting falsely that vitamin A can protect against measles. And, you know, there are concerns that parents might be giving kids vitamin A dosage long term to protect them against measles, which you can't do.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
But it can actually be harmful because vitamin A builds up in your body and over time it can be toxic. Right.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
That's absolutely false. The vaccine is very safe and highly effective. Again, two doses, 97 percent effective. Meanwhile, measles is still a dangerous virus. It can kill. You know, before we had vaccines, four to five hundred kids used to die in the U.S. each year from measles. And it can cause blindness, deafness, brain swelling. The virus can also have long-term effects.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
So after a measles infection, to some extent, your immune system's memory can be erased, which means that pathogens your body used to know how to defeat, it no longer remembers how to defeat them. So you're not immune anymore. And this effect can last two to three years. I know. It's called immune amnesia. And it can even cause neurological problems years after infection.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
I want to stress that there's no reason to panic right now. Vaccination rates are still high enough nationwide in most places to stop a major outbreak from happening. But if vaccination rates continue to fall, as they have been over the last several years, you know, in five to 10 years, experts I spoke with say we might
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
go back to the days when we had measles outbreaks with thousands of cases and many deaths. Well, how can people better protect themselves right now? Get vaccinated if you're not already. Make sure you've had two shots of the measles vaccine. And, you know, get your kids vaccinated, too.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
Parents can talk to their pediatricians about getting younger kids vaccinated early if they're traveling abroad or are in an outbreak area. In fact, the CDC says anybody traveling abroad with an infant six months or older should, you know, get them vaccinated early. It's usually more about 12 months. That's the schedule.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
If you're not sure about your own vaccination status and you can't check your immunization records, there's no harm in getting another dose.
Consider This from NPR
Measles is spreading. Are you safe?
They're really, really low. So no vaccine is 100% effective, but measles is pretty darn high, 97% effective. And you know what? The more people in a community are vaccinated, the more effective the vaccine is for everyone.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-26-2025 6PM EDT
By age 18, many young adults already have high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol, or type 2 diabetes, according to the American Heart Association. It says a growing number of younger adults are experiencing adverse cardiovascular events.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-26-2025 6PM EDT
One challenge is that as adolescents transition into young adulthood, they may stop going for regularly scheduled doctor's visits, such as vaccinations or sports checkups. In some states, without expanded Medicaid access, young adults can lose Medicaid coverage when they turn 19.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-26-2025 6PM EDT
In its statement, the American Heart Association says it's important to support policies that expand insurance access across the lifespan. It also calls for leveraging telehealth to increase health care use among young adults. Maria Godoy, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-08-2025 3PM EST
The CDC says thanks to high vaccination rates and strong surveillance programs, the risk for widespread measles in the United States remains low. It emphasizes that the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine remains the most important tool for preventing measles. The agency is urging all U.S.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-08-2025 3PM EST
residents to make sure they're up to date with their measles vaccinations, especially before traveling anywhere internationally. That includes infants six months or older who are traveling abroad. The CDC says teens and adults in areas with an ongoing measles outbreak who previously only got one dose of measles vaccine should get a second dose. Maria Godoy, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-31-2025 4PM EST
Kids' cereals are the most heavily advertised food product to children. In the study, researchers at the University of Connecticut's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health looked at advertising to households and subsequent cereal purchases over nine years. They found a strong relationship between how much TV advertising was targeted at kids under 12 And how much sugary cereals households bought?
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-31-2025 4PM EST
Just nine high-sugar cereals dominated sales. Study author Jennifer Harris says, by contrast, there was no link to increased purchases when ads targeted adults. Parents probably wouldn't buy them if their kids weren't asking them for them. The research appears in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Maria Godoy, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-23-2025 8PM EST
women with ADHD lived an average of nine years less. Prior research has found that factors including smoking, sleep, exercise, nutrition, and risky driving are key factors behind the shorter lifespans in adults with ADHD. Researchers say these factors are linked to impulsivity, which can be treated.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-23-2025 8PM EST
The findings are in line with other research that finds untreated ADHD raises the risk of serious health problems such as diabetes and heart disease. Maria Godoy, NPR News.