![\"NEWARK,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/HUSYQETBXFF65FTNJGBA4YEB4E.jpg\")
A measles carrier exposed visitors to Newark Liberty International Airport to the disease on Dec. 12. Spencer Platt\/Getty Images <\/p>\n
The NJDPH said that a passenger with measles stopped in New Jersey\u2019s Newark Liberty International Airport on Dec. 12, while Massachusetts\u2019 DPH said that an unvaccinated traveler from Texas with measles visited Boston\u2019s Logan International Airport on Christmas Eve. <\/p>\n
The NJDPH\u2019s statement warns that any individuals who visited Newark\u2019s Terminal B and Terminal C between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Dec. 12 should consider themselves exposed. It also warns that symptoms of measles could develop as late as Jan. 2, 2026. <\/p>\n
The Massachusetts DPH statement warns that potentially exposed individuals could see symptoms up to 21 days after exposure, which would be Jan. 14. <\/p>\n
Massachusetts\u2019 DPH told exposed travelers that if they develop symptoms of measles, they should contact their healthcare provider because \u201cvisiting a healthcare facility may put others at risk and should be avoided if possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Travelers](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/MAPWRXJ2AZFX3BRLVFDTVMWSHE.jpg\")
An unvaccinated measles carrier traveling from Texas exposed Boston’s Logan International Airport to the disease on Christmas Eve. JOSEPH PREZIOSO\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n
However, it also notes that the risk of Massachusetts residents contracting measles \u201cis low because the vaccination rate in the state is high.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone who has had measles in the past or has received two doses of the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine is unlikely to develop measles even if exposed,\u201d it says. <\/p>\n
One dose of the MMR vaccine is 93% effective against measles, and two doses raise that number to 97%, according to the CDC<\/a>. <\/p>\n America was declared measles-free in 2000 due to high vaccination rates. Before the measles vaccine was introduced in 1963, in the average year, 400 to 500 people died from the illness, 48,000 were hospitalized, and 1,000 suffered encephalitis, according to the CDC<\/a>. <\/p>\n However, the Make America Healthy Again movement, headed by HHS Secretary and noted vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., spent 2025 eroding vaccine protections<\/a>. <\/p>\n In March, <\/b>as America\u2019s first measles outbreak in 30 years raged through Texas<\/a> and other states, Kennedy, 71, longed for his youth when \u201deverybody got measles<\/a>,\u201d suggesting that herd immunity was more effective than vaccination. He was 9 when the vaccine was introduced.<\/p>\n Despite the clear evidence suggesting widespread vaccination against measles had eradicated the illness, Kennedy baselessly suggested<\/a> that the vaccine\u2019s effectiveness wanes over time, causes deaths every year, and leads to all cases of the disease.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n There have been 2,065 confirmed cases of measles in America in 2025, which is the highest number since 1992<\/a>. <\/p>\n Texas\u2019 measles outbreak started in Gaines County<\/a>, where one of every four residents is not vaccinated against measles, and only 82% of kindergartners are vaccinated against the disease\u2014far below the 95% community vaccination rate<\/a> the CDC says is needed to prevent outbreaks. Despite this, Texas and other red states worked to roll back vaccine standards<\/a> in schools. <\/p>\n Florida removed the measles vaccine mandate for schoolchildren in September. The state\u2019s surgeon general, Joseph Ladapo, compared a vaccine mandate to \u201cslavery<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n![\"ARLINGTON,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/FVYFENBZIFD4HKNVYUW2DN5NEU.jpg\")
Kennedy recently appeared in a “Make Travel Family Friendly Again” campaign that aimed to introduce health initiatives, such as gyms, to airports. Heather Diehl\/Getty Images <\/p>\n![\"HHS](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/I36NYNZGKNAXZFNRPVK7IIZ4AU.jpg\")
RFK baselessly questioned the effectiveness of the measles vaccine as measles spread through unvaccinated people in Texas. Tom Williams\/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images <\/p>\n