Health
Is MMR vaccine safe for kids? Dr. Nicole Saphier addresses concerns as measles cases rise
Measles is spreading in the southwestern U.S., as an outbreak in Texas has now crossed the border into New Mexico.
The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) confirmed in an updated report Friday that there have been 90 measles cases identified since late January.
The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) confirmed three cases just last week, bringing its total to eight.
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Texas DSHS reported that the majority of cases were mostly unvaccinated, school-aged children, which highlights the importance of vaccination.
The measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is one of the most common childhood inoculations and has been a requirement for school attendance since its development in the 1970s.
One of the most common childhood inoculations — the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine — has been a requirement for school attendance since its development in the 1970s. (iStock)
To address parents’ concerns, Fox News medical contributor Dr. Nicole Saphier answered some frequently asked questions regarding the vaccine in a video for Fox News Digital. (See the video at the top of the article.)
People often ask why the three vaccines are combined, which Saphier said is simply for convenience.
“From a public health standpoint, if the goal is to vaccinate as many children as possible to reach that herd immunity and keep these infections at bay, again, parents are more likely to only bring their child to the pediatrician that one time,” the doctor said.
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“And with a child, isn’t it easier to give one injection as opposed to three separate injections?”
Saphier also addressed concerns about MMR vaccine side effects, including inflammatory reactions at the site of the injection, where the skin can become red and warm.
Kids can also have low-grade fevers and feel irritable or lethargic, which is “likely to happen” with any of the three individual vaccines. (iStock)
Children can also have low-grade fevers and feel irritable or lethargic, which is “likely to happen” even with each individual vaccine – not just when the vaccines are combined.
“The reality is there are always side effects when it comes to any sort of healthcare intervention,” she said in the video. “But with vaccines in particular, you can have more mild side effects, and there are some severe, more rare side effects that are well-documented.”
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The potential for a link between autism and vaccinations has been a deterrent for many parents when choosing to vaccinate their children, but Saphier said the “overwhelming majority” of “good research” shows no causal link.
One of the largest studies, conducted in Denmark, found a lower risk of autism in more than 650,000 vaccinated children, the doctor noted.
The threat of a link between autism and vaccinations has been a deterrent for many parents, but the doctor said the “overwhelming majority” of “good research” shows no causal link. (iStock)
While the U.S. has a higher incidence of autism compared to other countries, specifically Europe, the doctor revealed that European nations have higher rates of MMR vaccine uptake.
“Isn’t it easier to give one injection as opposed to three separate injections?”
“The signs and symptoms [of autism] start to show around the time we’re giving all these vaccines, so it makes sense to kind of think they may be related,” she said.
“And it made sense to do as much research as we can to make sure there isn’t a link.”
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“But I think we need to be looking really hard at our environment, what we’re ingesting, the pollutants, the toxins, everything in big agriculture, big pharma, in our food industry and everything else.”
Saphier suggested that a link to autism may be found after diving into the “harmful chemicals” consumed by Americans that other nations do not consume.
Dr. Saphier suggested looking into environmental factors that could increase autism risk.
The doctor also said that medical agencies — such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics — should be “less stringent” on vaccination schedules, leaving the decision to the parents.
“It should be a conversation between the doctor and the patient.”
“If parents don’t want to give these vaccines when their babies are so little, I think it’s OK to have that conversation and let them wait until their child’s a little bit older before they head off to kindergarten,” said Saphier, who is a mother of three boys.
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“Because maybe at that time, you start to see signs of autism between about 1 to 3 years of age for the most part. So maybe let the parent get their child through that time, and if there aren’t signs of autism, then maybe they’ll feel better about … being able to vaccinate their children.”
A doctor said she supports returning autonomy to parents when it comes to vaccines for children. (iStock)
“It should be a conversation between the doctor and the patient,” she said.
“Unfortunately, during the COVID pandemic, the CDC and a lot of healthcare professionals really took away this conversation.”
“By putting the COVID vaccine and booster for children in the same basket as MMR and some of the other vaccines, when it comes to children, that was the biggest mistake they could have ever [made],” Saphier continued.
“That has caused more vaccine hesitancy and concern.”
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Saphier expressed her hope that the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement will help identify safety signals in vaccines, which will “give parents the confidence they need to continue with the vaccine programs, because they really can save lives.”
Fox News Digital’s Khloe Quill contributed reporting.
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As colorectal cancer (CRC) is now the leading cause of cancer death in adults under 50, a new report reveals some surprising shifts in the incidence of the disease.
Although rates of CRC have been declining among seniors, those 65 and under are facing a rise in diagnoses, according to a report titled Colorectal Cancer Statistics, 2026, from the American Cancer Society.
Adults 65 and younger comprise nearly half (45%) of all new colorectal cancer cases — a significant increase from 27% in 1995, states the report, which was published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
The disease is rising fastest among adults 20 to 49 years old, at a rate of 3% per year.
Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in adults under 50. (iStock)
Among adults 50 and under, 75% of colorectal cancers are diagnosed at an advanced stage. Half of the diagnoses in that age range are made between the ages of 45 and 49. Although that age group is eligible to receive routine screenings, just 37% do so.
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The report also revealed that rectal cancer is on the rise, now accounting for about one-third (32%) of all CRC cases — an increase from 27% in the mid-2000s.
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“After decades of progress, the risk of dying from colorectal cancer is climbing in younger generations of men and women, confirming a real uptick in disease because of something we’re doing or some other exposure,” said Rebecca Siegel, senior scientific director, surveillance research at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the report, in a press release.
Among adults 50 and under, 75% of colorectal cancers are diagnosed at an advanced stage. Half of the diagnoses in that age range are made between the ages of 45 and 49. (iStock)
“We need to redouble research efforts to understand the cause, but also circumvent deaths through earlier detection by educating clinicians and the general public about symptoms and increasing screening in people 45-54 years.”
It is projected that 158,850 new cases of colorectal cancer will be diagnosed this year, and that the disease will cause 55,230 deaths, per the report.
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More than half of CRC cases can be linked to high-risk behaviors, the researchers said. Those include lack of nutrition, high alcohol consumption, smoking, lack of exercise and obesity.
“These findings further underscore that colorectal cancer is worsening among younger generations and highlight the immediate need for eligible adults to begin screening at the recommended age of 45,” said Dr. William Dahut, chief scientific officer at the American Cancer Society.
When the disease is caught at a local (early) stage, the five-year survival rate is 95%. (iStock)
“The report also shines a light on the crucial importance of continued funding for research to help discover new therapies to treat the disease and advance patient care.”
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When the disease is caught at a local (early) stage, the five-year survival rate is 95%, the report stated.
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A new study suggests that middle-aged men may be more vulnerable to faster biological aging, potentially linked to exposure to “forever chemicals.”
The research, published in the journal Frontiers in Aging, examined how perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, more commonly known as PFAS, could impact aging at the cellular level.
PFAS are synthetic chemicals commonly used in nonstick cookware, food packaging, water-resistant fabrics and other consumer products, the study noted.
Their chemical structure makes them highly resistant to breaking down, allowing them to accumulate in water, soil and the human body.
Chinese researchers analyzed blood samples from 326 adults enrolled in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1999 and 2000.
A new study suggests that middle-aged men could face accelerated biological aging at the cellular level due to exposure to PFAS. (iStock)
The researchers measured levels of 11 PFAS compounds in participants’ blood and used DNA-based “epigenetic clocks” — tools that analyze chemical changes to DNA to estimate biological age — to determine how quickly their bodies were aging at the cellular level, the study stated.
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Two compounds, perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and perfluorooctanesulfonamide (PFOSA), were detected in 95% of participants.
Higher concentrations of those chemicals were associated with faster biological aging in men of certain age groups, but not in women.
“People should not panic.”
The compounds most strongly linked to accelerated aging were not the PFAS chemicals that typically receive the most public attention, the researchers noted.
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“The associations were strongest in adults aged 50 to 64, particularly in men,” Dr. Xiangwei Li, professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and the study’s corresponding author, told Fox News Digital.
“While this does not establish that PFAS cause aging, it suggests that these widely present ‘forever chemicals’ may be linked to molecular changes related to long-term health and aging.”
The study found that two of the compounds were detected in 95% of participants, and higher levels were linked to faster biological aging in men ages 50–64. (iStock)
Midlife may represent a more sensitive biological period, when the body becomes more vulnerable to age-related stressors, according to the researchers.
Lifestyle factors, such as smoking, may influence biological aging markers, potentially increasing vulnerability to environmental pollutants.
While Li said “people should not panic,” she does recommend looking for reasonable ways to reduce exposure.
That might mean checking local drinking water reports, using certified water filters designed to reduce PFAS, and limiting the use of stain- or grease-resistant products when alternatives are available.
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Meaningful reductions in PFAS exposure will likely depend on broader regulatory action and environmental cleanup efforts, Li added.
The researchers noted that midlife could be a particularly sensitive stage, when the body is more susceptible to stressors associated with aging. (iStock)
Study limitations
The researchers outlined several important limitations of the research, including that the findings show an association, but do not prove that PFAS directly causes accelerated aging.
“The study is cross-sectional, meaning exposure and aging markers were measured at the same time, so we cannot determine causality,” Li told Fox News Digital.
The study was also relatively small, limited to 326 adults age 50 or older, which means the findings may not apply to younger people or broader populations.
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Researchers measured PFAS levels using data collected between 1999 and 2000, and today’s exposure patterns may differ.
Li added that while PFAS is known to persist in the environment and the body, these results should be validated through larger, more recent studies that follow participants over time.
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