The Pan American Health Organization revoked the United States’ measles elimination status after 26 years, ending a designation held since 2000, according to The Hindu.
Contagion Live noted that PAHO’s Measles and Rubella Elimination Regional Monitoring and Re-Verification Commission held its sixth annual gathering from November 10 through November 13, 2026. This determination came at the conclusion of that meeting. The international health body acted after determining that the country failed to halt continuous transmission of the virus for more than a year, The Hindu reported.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention received reports of 5,182 confirmed measles cases across 45 states, New York City, and the District of Columbia as of November 12, 2026, The Hindu reported. Total case counts surpassed last year’s total of 2,289, The Hindu reported.
National kindergarten MMR coverage dropped to 92.4 percent in the 2025 to 2026 school year, falling below the 95 percent threshold required to maintain herd immunity, according to data cited by Your Local Epidemiologist. State coverage varied widely. Eighteen states reported MMR vaccination rates below 90 percent, such as Idaho at 75.2 percent, CNBC reported.
To reach herd immunity against measles, 95 percent of a community must be vaccinated. Vaccine coverage among kindergarteners nationally has decreased from 95.2 percent during the 2019–20 school year to 92.5 percent in 2024–25.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has documented more than 5,100 measles cases throughout 2026. That tally could potentially climb past 7,000 before the year concludes.
Jennifer Nuzzo, DrPH, is an epidemiologist and director of Brown University’s Pandemic Center. “It's just like popcorn: outbreak, outbreak, outbreak, outbreak. All over the country,” epidemiologist and director of Brown University's Pandemic Center Jennifer Nuzzo, DrPH, said, explaining that measles outbreaks in the United States are simultaneously fueling existing clusters and sparking new ones, establishing a continuous cycle of transmission.
Approximately 7,500 people in the U.S. have contracted measles since 2025, resulting in 13 fatalities. That period coincides with falling immunization rates and rising vaccine hesitancy under U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has for years spread doubts, without scientific evidence, about the safety of measles vaccines.
“It’s frustrating and heartbreaking … because we have the tools to fight this. The tool is the MMR vaccine, which we know is 97% effective at preventing the onset of measles,” said Omer Awan, a trained epidemiologist and senior public health contributor for Forbes, CBS News reported.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University developed a tool estimating an economic cost of nearly $83 million for this year’s outbreaks based on current case counts, CNBC reported. CNBC said that the overall sum encompasses $56 million for public health response efforts, nearly $25 million in lost productivity, and upwards of $1.8 million spent directly on medical care.
The 2025 outbreaks involving 2,289 confirmed cases carried an economic cost exceeding $37 million, CNBC reported. Public health departments must investigate infections, notify exposed people, and coordinate with schools while diverting staff from other priorities, CNBC reported.
New York reported 48 cases in 2025. That model calculated those cases generated about $1.1 million in expenses, with those expenses comprised close to $749,000 for public health containment efforts, $333,000 resulting from lost productivity, and roughly $24,500 in direct medical costs.
That model estimated roughly $298,000 in fixed costs. It also estimated about $16,300 for each additional case.
“Even if you don’t get the infection, the contact costs you,” researchers noted.
Earlier coverage: U.S. Loses Measles-Elimination Status as Cases Surge, Experts Say