Rosalynn Carter's mission to eradicate measles
ATLANTA - Rosalynn Carter did not like to see people suffering. As a caregiver most of her life, she knew the struggles of families, especially when a child gets sick. She also knew that many childhood diseases could be easily prevented.
Mrs. Carter saw that a declining vaccination rate correlated with a jump in measles cases between 1988 and 1991. She knew she could not just stand by to watch children suffer from high fever, coughing, runny nose, and severe rashes all over the body.
In 1991, she, along with Betty Bumpers, who is the wife of former Sen. Dale Bumpers, formed Every Child By Two, now known as the Vaccinate Your Family. The goal was to raise awareness of timely immunizations, increase the public’s understanding, increase the confidence in the safety of vaccines, make sure everyone has access, and to advocate for public policies supporting timely vaccinations.
It was that same year that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention saw a 43% spike in cases, mostly contracted by someone who visited overseas, or by someone who had contact with someone from another country. The CDC also saw one in a thousand cases turn deadly. More than 55,000 people were sickened with over 11,000 hospitalized, and more than 120 people died, many young children.
CDC REPORT: CHILDHOOD VACCINATION EXEMPTIONS REACH ALL-TIME HIGH
Mrs. Carter and Bumpers traveled to all 50 states to build an immunization coalition. That coalition now serves seven million woman and children with the help of the Bush, Clinton, Obama, and Biden administrations through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program and helped to facilitate the Vaccines For Children program (VFC), which provides free vaccines to eligible families.
The former first lady would serve as president of the organization through 2021.
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Rosalynn Carter died Sunday at her home in Plains, Georgia, at the age of 96, but her immunization and wellness programs will live on in her name.