Why it matters that Madam Secretary is fighting vaccine misinformation

<em>Daisy Grant (Patina Miller) looks on as her measles-infected daughter struggles to breathe.</em>

Measles appeared as the villain in the latest episode of the CBS show Madam Secretary. The story arc captured the risks of vaccine hesitancy — and it showcases the power of a fictional TV show to communicate facts.

The episode is timely given measles’ presence in the news lately. Outbreaks have been spreading across the country, and tech giants Facebook, Google, and Amazon have come under fire for allowing anti-vaccine misinformation to spread on their platforms. But the timing is just a coincidence, according to the show’s executive producer David Grae. Even before measles started making news in 2019, the Madam Secretary team had an episode about vaccine hesitancy in the works. “We all know about this idea of anti-vaxxing and how…

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