Tragedy in Paradise | An Atlanta News First investigation

<p class="text | article-text">Measles cases in Georgia and the U.S. surged to levels in 2025 that haven&rsquo;t been seen in three decades, fueled by declining childhood vaccinations and misinformation.</p>

<p class="text | article-text">Public health officials say the trend mirrors a tragedy that unfolded in 2019 on the island nation of Samoa, when false claims about vaccine safety helped trigger a deadly outbreak that killed 83 people, most of them children.</p>

<p class="text | article-text"><a href="https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/news/investigate/" rel="" target="_self" title="https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/news/investigate/"><em><strong>Atlanta News First Investigates</strong></em></a>&nbsp;traveled to the south Pacific island nation to learn what happened and how Georgia and the U.S. can learn from it.</p>

<p class="text | article-text">Experts warn the U.S. is on a similar path, with vaccine skepticism growing, amplified by social media and mixed messages from the nation&rsquo;s top health official, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.&nbsp;</p>