The 2019 measles outbreak is the worst in the U.S. since 1994 and it's only April

I am closing the month with an update to Following the measles outbreak in the U.S. and Michigan.  As feared, the disease has continued to spread.  CBS News has the latest in More than 700 measles cases in U.S. as outbreaks spread.

CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook joined CBSN to discuss the latest on the growing measles problem in the U.S. and answer some common questions about the vaccine.

The North Jersey Record breaks down the numbers.

There have been 704 confirmed cases of measles in 22 states so far this year, the highest number in 25 years, the federal Centers for Disease Control said today. That includes 202 cases in Rockland County, New York, 423 in New York City and 14 in New Jersey. An outbreak in Washington State, where 72 people were sickened, is over.

That's the state of the outbreak so far.  For more background, watch Vox explain Why measles is back in the US.

Almost all US states allow parents to opt their children out of vaccinations.
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Measles is back in the United States, and to understand why, you have to understand where. When anti-vaccination misinformation leads to a drop in the number of children immunized, a community can lose its “herd immunity.” This happens most often in small, tight-knit communities, in which measles can spread like wildfire. 75% of all recent measles cases have happened in those types of communities.

In order for everyone to be protected from measles, all people who can get vaccinated need to. But most states allow parents to opt out of vaccinating their children for any philosophical reason - and that’s allowing measles to make a comeback.

Those are the health costs of the outbreak.  CNBC has more in The economic and human toll of a measles outbreak.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the measles outbreak spreading throughout the United States and how certain industries are bracing for the uncertainty of the economic impact.

All three videos share the same message — get vaccinated if not already vaccinated and vaccinate your children!

That's it for April.  Stay tuned for the first entry of May, which will be a different take on a drum corps May  Day.