Since 2000, america had defeated measles; vaccine opposition brought it roaring back

Elimination achieved, then reversed

“Everyone was on board,” said Koplan, now Emory University’s vice president for global health. He credited widespread support and an effective vaccine for the success.

Outbreaks and serious consequences

The CDC has recorded 43 outbreaks and more than 5,000 confirmed cases this year. Eight people have died, including four babies too young to receive a vaccine. Nearly all of the thousands of Americans infected over the past year and a half were unvaccinated. The article reports pregnant women losing babies, doctors working to treat newborns, and children suffering severe, sometimes irreversible, neurological complications.

Since early 2025, public health workers have confronted outbreaks in West Texas, Utah, Arizona and South Carolina, followed by cases in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota, New York and Wisconsin. Measles can remain airborne for hours, and nearly everyone without immunity who is exposed becomes infected.

Vaccination rates fall across counties

An immunization rate of 95% is needed to prevent measles from spreading. Nationwide, 75% of counties and jurisdictions with measles-mumps-rubella data fall below that level, and more than half of counties with recent kindergarten data saw declines between the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years.

Since 2019, vaccination exemptions have risen in 86% of counties. In Oklahoma’s Payne County, kindergarten coverage fell from 95.6% to 78.4%; in Minnesota’s Scott County, it dropped from 94.6% to 83%.

In Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 87.6% of kindergartners received MMR vaccinations in 2025-26, down from 95.5% in 2017-18. Coverage also declined in the counties with the highest rates, from 99.3% in 2019 to 97.7% in 2025-26.

Health officials warn of worsening risk

Ben Riehl, a 61-year-old Amish resident of Lancaster County, said attitudes toward vaccines have changed over the past decade. He and his wife vaccinated their six sons; Riehl said that when he was younger, vaccination was considered the proper choice.

The Pan American Health Organization is expected to make a final decision on the United States’ measles elimination status and inform the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, possibly this week. HHS and the CDC say they will work with partners to document an end to endemic transmission and meet requirements to regain elimination status if it is removed.