HEALTH
Disease Outbreaks and Epidemics
<a href="https://healthylife7.com/there-are-already-more-us-measles-cases-this-year-than-in-all-of-2025/" title="There are already more US measles cases this year than in all of 2025″>Measles cases surpass last year’s total with 5 months left in 2026
Mary Walrath-HoldridgeUSA TODAY
Updated July 24, 2026, 11:41 a.m. ET
Just seven months into 2026, measles cases in the U.S. have surpassed last year’s total and represent the highest number of such cases recorded in the United States since the highly contagious disease was eliminated from the country nearly three decades ago, according to new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data
As of Thursday, July 23, approximately 2,318 measles cases from 35 separate outbreaks have reached 43 states and Washington, D.C., since the beginning of 2026, according to the CDC, resulting in at least 151 hospitalizations. The majority, 93%, occurred in unvaccinated people, and nearly 69% occurred in children ages 19 and younger. No deaths have been reported
Cases previously reached a 30-year high in 2025, with 2,289 confirmed infections across 43 states plus D.C. for the entire year. Nearly 90% of cases were directly linked to 48 known outbreaks, and 93% of infections were contracted by unvaccinated people or those whose vaccination status was unknown. Three people, including two children, died as a result of the outbreaks, marking the first pediatric death from measles in a decade
“The number of measles cases reported in the United States over the past 18 months exceeds the combined total of the previous 25 years,” Dr. Richard Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a statement shared with USA TODAY. “Crossing this threshold is a tragic reminder that measles has made an alarming comeback in the United States.”
Measles cases by state. See map
As of July 23, 2026, 2,318 confirmed measles cases were reported in the United States. Just 16 of those were from international travelers. The remaining occurred in 43 states plus Washington, D.C
What is measles, and how do you get it?
Measles is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable disease caused by a virus that primarily and most severely afflicts children. According to the World Health Organization, it infects the respiratory tract before spreading throughout the body. It is characterized by high fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes and rashes or bumps that appear seven to 14 days after exposure
The virus is one of the most contagious infectious diseases; so contagious, in fact, that 90% of unvaccinated people who are exposed end up contracting it. Additionally, 1 in 5 of those people end up hospitalized, according to the CDC
The MMR vaccine (measles, mumps and rubella) protects against measles with 97% efficacy, and is typically administered to children as part of the regular vaccine course at ages 12 to 15 months for the first dose, and ages 4 to 6 years for the second
“While most children who get measles fully recover, not all do,” Besser said. “Every new case represents a child at higher risk of hospitalization, lifelong health complications, and death. Each case also indicates a community that is at risk for further spread.”
Why are measles cases on the rise?
MMR vaccination uptake has declined in recent years, resulting in a growing number of states no longer reporting rates consistent with herd immunity. When more than 95% of people in a community are vaccinated, most people are protected, even if they cannot get the vaccine themselves, because those around them are immune and cannot spread the disease
Vaccination coverage among U.S. kindergartners decreased from 95.2% during the 2019–2020 school year to 92.5% in the 2024–2025 school year, well under the threshold necessary for effective herd immunity, according to the CDC
Outbreaks, like the large one focused in Texas in 2025, often occur within communities with large pockets of unvaccinated people. A small, under-vaccinated Mennonite community was at the center of last year’s largest outbreak, for example
Declining protections have also been attributed to the growing anti-vaccine movement, which was bolstered by the confirmation of vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary. In addition to making anti-vaccine comments, Kennedy also downplayed pediatric deaths related to measles and touted false cures and preventives, such as the use of vitamin A. During the height of the 2025 outbreak, he somewhat pulled back from anti-vaccine messaging and encouraged inoculation against measles.
Plummeting vaccination rates and the resulting resurgence in cases have put the United States at risk of losing its measles elimination status. Defined by the WHO as freedom from the continuous spread of a disease for at least a year, reaching elimination status has been called a “historic public health achievement” by the CDC
The Pan American Health Organization, a part of the World Health Organization that tracks infectious diseases in the Americas, is set to review the U.S. and Mexico’s measles elimination status in November (pushed from the originally planned April). The U.S. review stems from the 2025 outbreaks, the organization said in a statement. PAHO already removed Canada’s elimination status in November after three decades
Contributing: Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY
