US on track to lose measles elimination status after 26 years

The United States is on track to lose its measles elimination status, which the country achieved in 2000, after 26 years. An independent commission of experts that reports to the director of the Pan American Health Organization determined that the US no longer qualified as having eliminated measles, a source close to the process told CNN on Friday. The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The decision and the criteria

The international committee that determines countries’ measles elimination status considers an infection to be endemic, or regularly occurring, if infections caused by the same strain are passed from person to person for at least a year within the same country. Committee members look at the genetic code of viruses sampled from patients to determine whether infections are likely part of the same chains of transmission.

In August, scientists with Utah’s public health laboratory published a preprint study showing that the same strain of measles had been circulating in the state for more than a year, accounting for more than 95% of cases there. It traveled from the southwest part of the state to central Utah, ultimately causing more than 600 cases between June 2025 and June 2026. There have also been sustained outbreaks in South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and New York, as well as other states.

Cases and deaths

More than 5,400 measles cases have been reported in the US this year – the highest number since 1991. Most are linked to the 43 new outbreaks this year, but more than 1,000 cases are linked to outbreaks that began last year. Nearly all of this year’s cases have been in people who had not received the MMR vaccine or whose vaccination status is unknown. People have been hospitalized in roughly 1 in 9 reported cases, according to the CDC, and at least 10 people have died after catching measles, according to state reports.

The 74 reported 5,412 confirmed measles cases across 46 states and Washington, D.C., this year, the highest in three decades and significantly outpacing the 2,289 cases recorded in all of 2025, according to the CDC. Earlier this month, a 7-month-old, unvaccinated child in New York’s North Country died after contracting the virus — the state’s first fatal case in three decades and the eighth measles death nationally in 2026.

Vaccination rates and response

The measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is so effective that two doses cut an exposed person’s chances of getting sick by 97% compared with someone who is unvaccinated. To reach herd immunity against measles, 95% of a community must be vaccinated, though vaccine coverage among kindergarteners nationally has decreased from 95.2% during the 2019–20 school year to 92.5% in 2024–25.

A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said, “Whatever PAHO determines, our mission does not change. HHS and CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) will continue working to stop transmission, close vaccination gaps, strengthen outbreak response, and protect Americans from measles. Secretary Kennedy and CDC Director Dr. Erica Schwartz continue to recommend MMR vaccination as the most effective way to prevent measles.”

Why it matters

Losing elimination status means measles is no longer considered eliminated as a continually transmitting illness in the United States. Experts say regaining status requires demonstrating interrupted endemic transmission for at least 36 months. Canada lost its measles elimination status last year, and Mexico is also in danger of losing its elimination status.

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Sources

• cnn.com: Measles: After 26 years, the US has lost its elimination status | CNN
• the74million.org: U.S. Likely to Lose Measles Elimination Status Amid Multiple, Fatal Outbreaks – The 74
• nbc26.com: US could lose measles elimination status this week amid surge in cases
• kcra.com: Measles surge in US: Country likely to lose 'elimination' status - KCRA
• mynbc5.com: Measles surge in US: Country likely to lose 'elimination' status - WPTZ
• politifact.com: With measles surging, the US is likely to lose ‘elimination’ status. Vaccines offer best hope – PolitiFact

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.