Rebecca Archer is adding her voice to calls urging parents to vaccinate their children against measles, but her perspective is shaped by a deeply personal tragedy. Writing in an opinion piece for The New York Times, the mother from Salford, England, shares the story of her daughter, Renae, who contracted measles as an infant during a 2013 outbreak in Manchester. That outbreak followed a drop in vaccination rates linked to a study that has since been thoroughly discredited.
At the time, Renae was just five months old—too young to receive the measles vaccine. Although she appeared to recover within about a week, Archer later learned that measles can have serious long-term effects that aren’t immediately visible.
Years later, when Renae was 10, she began experiencing seizures, trouble with coordination, hallucinations, and a rapid decline in her neurological health. Doctors eventually diagnosed her with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, a rare and fatal brain condition that can emerge long after a measles infection. Archer recounts how her daughter, once a bright child reading at an advanced level by age 8, gradually lost the ability to walk, speak, and eat.
Renae died just days before her 11th birthday.
By sharing her daughter’s story, Archer hopes to underscore the serious risks associated with measles, emphasizing that the disease can have devastating consequences far beyond the initial illness. She describes telling Renae’s story as painful but necessary, believing it is the most meaningful way she can honor her daughter and raise awareness.