US measles cases pass 2,000 as outbreak nears worst in decades | US news
The U.S. has recorded more than 2,000 confirmed cases of measles so far this year; The total is close to 2,228 cases recorded in all of 2025 and is on track to be the worst year for measles in decades as states grapple with the loss of federal funding for public health.
The virus continues to spread in unvaccinated and under-vaccinated communities, including infants too young to be vaccinated, revealing the depth of the dual crises of misinformation and public health in the United States.
The US recorded 2,030 cases on June 4, but experts believe the real number is nearly three times higher. While cases in Utah appear to be decreasing, cases in Virginia and Pennsylvania appear to be increasing.
“I think it’s going to be a busy summer,” said Andrew Pavia, the George and Esther presidential professor, speaking in his personal capacity as an infectious diseases expert.
Utah showed a new side of the epidemic. “What makes Utah different from South Carolina and Texas is that it spreads throughout the state and is much more widely distributed,” Pavia said.
Pavia noted, however, that there are two factors that make a difference in whether cases are brought under control: “It’s been hit hardest in communities where vaccination rates are relatively low and public health departments are relatively limited.”
Although the Utah cluster started in a community with poor public health connectivity, making it difficult to track cases, it quickly spread elsewhere. “Given that vaccination rates have been declining for 15 to 20 years in some places, there are young adults who are susceptible who grew up in typical middle-class environments,” Pavia said.
Controlling measles also requires strong public health: strong contact tracing, isolation for patients and quarantine for those exposed – a task that has become increasingly politicized in the wake of the Covid pandemic. Utah has a decentralized public health system, so most of the responses came from local public health departments.
“Some of these smaller health departments are very stressed in terms of staffing, funding, and training, especially after the massive cuts the administration made to divert money going to state and local health departments — I think it was $11 billion that was taken away from them,” Pavia said.
Pavia said Utah governor Spencer Cox “hasn’t uttered the word ‘measles’ since 2024” and has had to clear all of his health department announcements through political leadership, making him less visible and less vocal than other states. He said the opposite of the approach in South Carolina, where the governor and health department director provide regular updates and “speak with one voice about the need to contain.”
The measles outbreak is officially under control in South Carolina and 162% jump at vaccinations in Spartanburg County in January. But that response remains challenging, said Annie Andrews, a pediatrician in South Carolina. Before the outbreak ended, it escalated to nearly 1,000 documented cases (in reality, probably 2,000 to 3,000 cases), and at least one teenage boy was hospitalized with measles encephalitis.
Andrews said it was “incredibly frustrating” to watch the incident unfold. “None of this had to happen. This was completely preventable and is a direct result of decades of misinformation and disinformation regarding vaccines.”
By early 2025, U.S. poison control centers reported a 38.7% increase in vitamin A exposure, while online searches for the unproven treatment touted by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and longtime vaccine critic, surged, according to a new report. analysis. Kennedy also framed the measles vaccine as a personal choice as the epidemic continues to spiral across the United States.
High levels of vaccination can prevent outbreaks from growing and also protect people who cannot be vaccinated or do not respond to vaccines. Babies under one year of age are generally not vaccinated and cannot be vaccinated before six months; this makes them particularly vulnerable during epidemics. A baby born to a measles-positive mother in Texas required hospitalization for acute measles meningoencephalitis, according to a new report It was published It is included in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
When Pavia was a child, every parent was horrified when measles became widespread in the community.
“Everyone knew a child who had a bad outcome from measles, and they didn’t take measles lightly. That’s not true anymore,” Pavia said.
Now, when cases flare up and patients report even uncomplicated symptoms (intense photosensitivity, painful diarrhea, high fever), he and his colleagues hear the same thing over and over again: “This was worse than everyone told me.” Parents say they’ve never seen their children this sick.
“We are by no means removed from this anti-science era that we find ourselves in in South Carolina and other parts of the country, and that environment has made us really vulnerable to this measles epidemic,” Andrews said. “RFK Jr is one of the names leading the spread of disinformation.”
Pavia said misinformation from senior health leaders made fighting the epidemic on the ground even more difficult. “When it comes to the situation we have now with the HHS secretary who has been a long-time critic of the vaccine and has done nothing proactive at the national level to change attitudes toward measles, you are dependent on local officials standing their ground, and that is fluid.”
Andrews knew he wanted to be a doctor since he was four years old, and he’s known he wanted to be a pediatrician since he first set foot in a children’s hospital more than 20 years ago. But now she finds herself taking on new roles she never imagined: She’s become a social media influencer, explains why the vaccine is so important, and takes on common health misconceptions.
“Pediatricians and other physicians have created a void in social media spaces that has allowed RFK Jr and other anti-science, anti-vaccine influencers to fill that void,” Andrews said. “I think pediatricians and physicians have never understood the importance of getting into these spaces. This is where the real people are, that’s where our patients get their information, and because we didn’t intervene there, disinformation came in, and it’s going to take a long time for us to come back from that, to regain trust.”
He added that providing accessible and engaging information is an important part of being a medical professional. “Until we accept this, we will continue the siege in these areas and we will be back to where we are today.”
Andrews is now aiming for an even bigger platform by running for the U.S. Senate in South Carolina. If elected, she will be the first female physician and first pediatrician senator in the Senate. “There has never been a more urgent need for scientifically literate, data-driven lawmakers to be in the rooms where these conversations are taking place,” he said.
He said it will take decades to counter the distrust that permeates public health and medical systems in the United States. “This mistrust of vaccines, this misunderstanding of the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, is so widespread now,” Andrews said. “It is heartbreaking to watch patients suffer as a result.”
