U.S. loses measles elimination status
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An international health organization has determined that the United States has lost its measles elimination status, according to multiple news reports.
Why it matters: It's an official recognition of how much the country's public health has deteriorated due to a rolling series of outbreaks since early last year.
- Increased public skepticism about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, a barrage of distrust from federal officials like Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and funding cuts for response efforts have all factored in the surge of cases, according to public health experts.
The big picture: The Pan American Health Organization concluded there has been sustained transmission of the highly contagious virus for longer than 12 months, bringing the U.S. case count to its highest level in 35 years.
- The measles elimination status hinges on whether the same strain of measles stays in circulation for 12 months or longer without a break.
- The overwhelming majority of cases are in unvaccinated people. While overall measles vaccination rates remain relatively high, public health officials say they have to remain above 95% to maintain herd immunity.
Driving the news: An expert panel convened by the Pan American Health Organization made the widely expected decision following a three-day meeting in Washington, D.C.
What they're saying: "It is no surprise that the resurgence of measles has coincided with an administration that has inflicted significant damage to our health care system while spreading false claims about vaccines," said Richard Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control.
- "It is unthinkable that people in the United States should be dying from measles in 2026," the Infectious Diseases Society said in comments prior to the decision.
- The group cited the potential long-term toll on infants infected this year, some of whom could develop serious neurologic disease years after the initial infection.
By the numbers: There have been 5,412 confirmed cases so far this year, compared to 2,289 for all of 2025, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's latest tally.
- The last time measles cases were higher was in 1991, when the U.S. had 9,643 cases.
- Pennsylvania is in the grip of an outbreak that has accounted for more than 1,500 cases so far and six measles-associated deaths.
- Those reports are widely considered to be an undercount, due to the lack of widespread testing and unreported instances of mild illness.
While most measles cases aren't severe, they can have long-lasting effects because of the way the virus can suppress the body's immune responses, leaving people more susceptible to other infections.
- About 1 in 5 unvaccinated people in the U.S. who get measles is hospitalized, per the CDC.
How it works: Experts rely on disease tracking by local health departments and genetic sequencing, and can also factor vaccination rates and surveillance efforts.
- Canada and the United Kingdom have both lost their measles elimination status over the past year.
- The determinations are largely symbolic, but mean the virus has become endemic and is spreading freely in pockets of unvaccinated people, according to Yale epidemiologist Katelyn Jetelina.
- Since early 2025, there have been large-scale outbreaks in West Texas, along the Utah-Arizona border and in South Carolina.
