DEAR DR. ROACH: My husband and I recently welcomed our new granddaughter. She is 2 months old and therefore several months away from receiving her first MMR vaccine. We live in Texas, and while there are currently no known measles cases in our area, we are aware that it could happen due to the highly contagious nature of the virus.

Clayton and Kathryn Nash, who both grappled with measles in their childhoods, have wondered why there’s a recent outbreak of the virus when it’s preventable through vaccination. The pair can recall living in a time when the measles vaccine wasn’t yet available.