US Loses Measles Elimination Status After 26 Years, WSJ Reports on Outbreaks
PAHO Ends Elimination Designation
The Pan American Health Organization has withdrawn the United States’ measles-elimination status, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. The country had held the designation since 2000. A source familiar with the process told CNN that an independent expert commission reporting to PAHO’s director found the US no longer met the requirements. PAHO examined CDC evidence on whether one strain had circulated without interruption for at least 12 months.
Cases Rise Across The Country
A source familiar with the CDC findings told Reuters that the agency identified 12 months of continuous transmission. Such persistence points to spread within the country rather than cases brought in from elsewhere.
As of Thursday, the CDC had recorded 5,182 confirmed cases this year in 45 states, New York City and Washington, D.C. That exceeds the 2,289 cases reported in 2025 by more than twofold.
Experts Urge Vaccination
The article links rising vaccine hesitancy to US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has expressed skepticism about measles vaccine safety without scientific proof. Before the decision, CDC Director Erica Schwartz said the agency would continue working with states to encourage vaccination.
Key points
- PAHO withdrew the US measles-elimination status after 26 years.
- The CDC found 12 months of continuous measles transmission, according to a source familiar with its findings.
- The CDC recorded 5,182 confirmed cases this year as of Thursday.
- A country must end transmission and remain outbreak-free for at least 12 months to regain the status.