Measles quilt

This piece represents the effectiveness of the measles vaccine. The measles vaccine was created in 1963. The disease was declared eradicated in the United States in 2000 — one of our most important public health achievements — and yet we are seeing an increase in infections in recent years. This data quilt visualizes reported measles infections from 1947–2026. Each block represents one year and the infection rates are color-coded by proportion (red= higher infection rate). Yellow marks the year the vaccine was introduced, as well as the year it was declared eradicated. Data sourced from the Centers for Disease Control & The Wall Street Journal. Measles Vaccine Data Quilt, cotton fabrics, 28 X 33 in, 2026.

Explore a longer essay about this piece on Medium.