“Samoa declared a state of emergency nine days ago, closing all its schools, banning children from public gatherings and mandating that everybody get vaccinated. Teams of people have been traveling the country administering thousands of vaccines.” And even with those moves, the crisis has deepened. When immunization levels drop beneath a certain threshold, the measles remind us that its threat is still there, and still merciless. NBC News: Samoa measles epidemic worsens with 24 children now dead.