The United States lost its measles elimination status after an independent commission determined that the country experienced uninterrupted transmission of the virus for more than 12 months, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The Pan American Health Organization commission reviewed data submitted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and concluded the country no longer qualifies as having eliminated the disease, according to Reuters. The decision ends a 26-year run for the United States, which had held the celebrated distinction since 2000 when PAHO determined endemic transmission had been interrupted.
More than 5,400 confirmed measles cases have been reported across the country this year, according to data from the CDC and the Johns Hopkins University International Vaccine Access Center tracker. That figure more than doubles the 2,289 confirmed cases reported in 2025.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a 2021 book wrote that Americans had been "misled … into believing that measles is a deadly disease." He said measles outbreaks had been "fabricated" to push people towards vaccines. https://t.co/lBXK42mpjj pic.twitter.com/lo7ZA0nv8F
States Confirm 10 Measles Deaths Nationwide
States have confirmed 10 measles-associated deaths nationwide this year following announcements from Pennsylvania and Wisconsin on Friday, according to Al Jazeera. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported an infant’s death, while the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported the death of an unvaccinated patient who tested positive for the virus.
More than 5,000 confirmed measles cases have been reported in the US this year, according to reports. PAHO’s Measles and Rubella Elimination Regional Monitoring and Re-Verification Commission establishes that a country loses elimination status if transmission is re-established and continues uninterrupted for at least 12 months.
Pennsylvania has logged seven measles-associated deaths, Wisconsin has reported two, and New York recorded a child’s death on November 2, according to state officials. The federal death count maintained by the CDC has faced disputes between state officials and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over how cases are tallied, according to Al Jazeera. Michigan reported 22 confirmed cases for 2026 as of Thursday, November 12.
“That is a tremendous step backwards,” said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told The Guardian. Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said that the loss of elimination is a hit to the United States’ reputation as a public health powerhouse.
“It's just like popcorn: outbreak, outbreak, outbreak, outbreak. All over the country,” said epidemiologist Jennifer Nuzzo, DrPH, director of Brown University's Pandemic Center, which Dr. Geeta Sood, an infectious diseases physician and epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, said while imported cases were once common, the virus is now re-entrenched.
CDC director Erica Schwartz mentioned to Reuters during an interview that the agency would keep collaborating with state authorities to promote vaccination should the country forfeit its measles-free status.
“Loss of measles elimination status in the US signals to the world that we are not up to this task and may diminish their own aspirations to achieve and sustain measles elimination,” said William Moss, MD, MPH, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Outbreaks Cost Nearly $83 Million This Year
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University estimate that this year’s outbreaks carry an economic cost of nearly $83 million, according to CNBC. The sum comprises $56 million for public health containment efforts, roughly $25 million in diminished productivity, and upwards of $1.8 million in out-of-pocket medical expenditures.
By comparison, 2025 outbreaks involving 2,289 confirmed cases carried an economic cost of more than $37 million, including $1.1 million in costs for New York alone based on a tool estimating public health responses.
The financial strain stems largely from the work required of local and state health departments to investigate cases, trace exposures, coordinate with schools, and run vaccination campaigns, according to CNBC. Officials note that these outbreak responses divert resources from other public health priorities. Exposure to measles can require people to quarantine even if they never develop symptoms, adding to productivity losses.
Declining vaccination coverage among kindergarteners has fueled the resurgence, with rates dropping from 95.2 percent during the 2019-2020 school year to 92.4 percent, according to CDC data. That rate falls below the 95 percent threshold required to sustain herd immunity, leaving about 280,000 to 300,000 kindergartners entering classrooms without vaccination at risk. Rates vary by state, with 18 states reporting MMR vaccination rates below 90 percent, and Idaho recording a rate of 75.2 percent.
Two doses of the vaccine provide about 97 percent protection against infection, according to public health agencies. To restore its elimination status, the United States must end transmission and remain free of an outbreak for at least 12 months, according to international guidelines.
Vaccine supplies remain ample and the vaccine is safe, though health officials emphasize that adults who grew up when the virus was not circulating also represent a susceptible population if they lack natural immunity or vaccination.
Earlier coverage: US Poised to Lose Measles-Elimination Status, CDC Reports 5,400 Cases