Box.

Measles: timeline to elimination in the United States

1960s	1962: President Kennedy signs Vaccination Assistance Act (VAA).7
	1963: First 2 measles vaccines licensed.37
	1964: Federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices created, recommends measles vaccination at 9 months.4
	1965: VAA expanded to cover measles8; recommended age of measles immunization raised to 12 months.38
	1967: President Johnson endorses campaign to eradicate measles from the United States.4
	1969: Seventeen states have laws requiring measles immunization for school enrollment.15
1970s	1971: Combined measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine licensed; 75 000 measles cases, up from low of 22 000 in 1968.4
	1976: Recommended age of immunization raised to 15 months.38
	1977: President Carter launches Childhood Immunization Initiative.4
	1978: Carter administration announces plan to eliminate measles from the United States.39
1980s	1980: Fifty states have laws requiring measles immunization for school enrollment; schedule of vaccines recommended for children protects against 7 infectious diseases, including measles.40
	1981: 96% of all schoolchildren are vaccinated against measles.4
	1986: President Reagan signs National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA).41
	1989: Large measles outbreaks across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.42
1990s	1991: National Vaccine Advisory Committee white paper attributes ongoing measles outbreaks to inadequate health care system.25
	1993: President Clinton signs Comprehensive Child Immunization Act, creating Vaccines for Children entitlement program; recommended age of measles immunization revised to 12-15 months.42
	1994: Schedule of vaccines recommended for children protects against 12 infectious diseases, including measles.42
	1998: Lancet publishes article whose lead author proposes connection between MMR vaccine and autism.43
2000s	2000: Measles eliminated from the United States.44
	2001: Institute of Medicine (IOM) launches program to investigate 8 vaccine safety concerns, including MMR–autism link.4
	2004: IOM investigations conclude, finding no connection between autism and any vaccines.45
	2008: Family of a girl who developed autism-like symptoms related to a mitochondrial disease after receiving required childhood vaccines compensated under NCVIA.46
2010s	2011: Lancet article published in 1998 retracted.43
	2014: United States has 644 cases of measles, highest number since elimination; 383 cases are associated with outbreak among Amish in Ohio.47
	2015: Multistate outbreak of measles tied to Disneyland causes 129 cases of measles48; California tightens school immunization laws.49
	2017: Outbreak of 65 measles cases in Minnesota linked to Somali-American community with autism fears50; United States has 117 cases of measles47; schedule of vaccines recommended for children protects against 17 infectious diseases, including measles.51