Measles cases reach U.S. record not seen since 1991
Measles cases have reached a record not seen in the United States since 1991; almost a decade before the viral disease was declared eradicated.
The grim milestone comes amid a generational setback in control of the highly contagious disease, which before the age of vaccines caused millions of infections a year and killed 400 to 500 people, 1,000 with brain swelling and hospitalized 48,000 each year.
Last year, three deaths from measles were recorded in the United States; these were the first deaths since 2015 and the first deaths among children since 2003. Those who died last year were two unvaccinated school-age children in Texas and an unvaccinated adult in New Mexico.
So far this year, 2,318 cases of measles have been reported nationwide, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is higher than in any other calendar year since a significant nationwide measles epidemic between 1989 and 1991 led to 55,365 cases in three years – 17,914 in 1989; 27,808 in 1990; and 9,643 in 1991.
American Academy of Pediatrics President Dr. “Halfway through 2026, the United States is experiencing the worst year for measles since 1991. We are witnessing a preventable crisis that is disproportionately harming children,” Andrew Racine said in a statement Friday. “These thousands of cases represent real people in communities across the country, including babies hospitalized with pneumonia.
“The country, which has kept measles under control for decades, has been experiencing continuous outbreaks since January 2025. We should not accept this as our new normal. Unless we reverse this trend, American children will continue to pay the price,” Racine said.
healthcare professionals to wait that the United States would lose its status as having “eliminated” measles from the country; It is stated that this status was achieved in 2000, which means that the spread of the disease has not continued for more than a year. Canada lost its status last yearand accordingly World Health Organization, Mexico is among the top 10 countries with measles cases worldwide.
Measles vaccination rates across the country are falling, falling below the 95% threshold that experts say is needed to prevent widespread outbreaks. While only 92.5% of kindergarten students were vaccinated against measles in the 2024-25 school year, this rate dropped to 95.2% in the 2019-20 school year. HKM. More than half of the states saw a decrease in measles vaccinations compared to the previous year, the CDC said.
In California, measles vaccination rates among kindergarten students are still above the 95% threshold. In 2024-25, 96.1% of kindergarten students in California were vaccinated against measles. However, there are some counties where vaccination rates are below target; In Southern California, these include San Diego and San Bernardino counties, where the measles vaccination rate among kindergarteners is 93.7%, and Kern County, where the rate is 89.3%.
Other counties with rates below 95% are Calaveras, Del Norte, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Nevada, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Sutter and Tuolumne.
The CDC said 93 percent of measles cases reported nationally this year occurred among people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown. 49 percent of those infected were between the ages of 5 and 19, and 20 percent were under 5 years old. More than 150 measles patients had to be hospitalized this year.
Multiple outbreaks spread measles in California this year: one in Riverside County involved three people infected in a single family; one infected nine people at a church group in Shasta County; and an outbreak in Sacramento County and neighboring Placer County.
The rise in measles cases has led the Department of Health and Human Services, the nation’s top health agency, to warn against vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. It emerges when it is managed by.
Kennedy at the beginning of this year defended His record was telling a congressional committee that “there is a global measles epidemic. We have done a better job of preventing it than any country in the world.” His critics argue that Kennedy’s messages fuel public skepticism about vaccines.
“The anti-vaccine rhetoric and anti-vaccine actions you employed last year are clearly linked to dramatic increases in yet another preventable disease,” said Rep. Linda T. Sanchez (D-Whittier). said Kennedy at a House committee hearing.
Kennedy said he is not anti-vaccine.
The American Academy of Pediatrics accused federal leaders of underestimating the risk of measles and providing misinformation about the vaccine that protects against measles, mumps and rubella.
“Since early last year, federal leaders have dismissed measles as benign and inevitable and have spread misleading information about the MMR vaccine,” Racine said. “Today I want to remind parents that measles is not just a rash. The virus can disrupt the immune system’s memory and significantly increase the likelihood of a previously healthy child becoming ill from any infection.
“Skipping or delaying the MMR vaccine is risky because pediatricians cannot predict which children will develop severe symptoms of measles or who will be hospitalized,” Racine said.
