US measles cases reach 33-year high as outbreaks spread
when officials recorded more than 2,100 infections, according to data published Friday
from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Outbreak Response Innovation (CORI).
'It's devastating,' said Claire Hannan, executive director of the Association of Immunization Managers, a national organization of state and local immunization officials. 'We worked so hard to eliminate the threat of measles and to keep it at bay.'
Authorities said at least 155 people have been hospitalized and three people have died of measles-related complications this year. The dead include two otherwise healthy children in Texas and a man in New Mexico, all of whom were unvaccinated. In contrast, only three measles deaths were reported between 2001 and 2024, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
About 92 percent of measles cases in 2025 were in people who were either unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown, according to the CDC.
Advertisement
Data from the CDC does not yet reflect the record as it is updated weekly on Wednesdays, while the Johns Hopkins' site validates data every weekday.
The largest outbreak has been in West Texas, where officials have recorded more than 750 cases since late January and believe the true toll is much higher. Data shows that outbreak has slowed, but that it has spread to surrounding states.
Advertisement
Unrelated clusters of cases emerged elsewhere, usually originating with an unvaccinated person who traveled abroad.
Measles was officially eliminated from the United States in 2000 with high vaccination coverage
and rapid outbreak response. Cases still popped up periodically. But in recent years, large outbreaks with 50 or more cases have become more frequent, especially in close-knit communities with low vaccination coverage.
Public health experts say the country is on track to lose the elimination status if there is continuous spread of linked measles cases for more than 12 months.
'It's a harbinger of things to come,' said Eric Ball, a pediatrician who heads the California chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. 'Once we see a resurgence of measles, we know that other diseases are going to come behind it.'
Misinformation about the safety and effectiveness of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine fueled the 1,274 cases recorded in 2019, according to public health officials and researchers.
The outbreaks that year were concentrated in ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities in New York, highlighting the risks in tight-knit communities where vaccine distrust takes hold.
Confidence in public health measures, especially vaccines, has fallen since then, and is sharply divided along political lines.
The national rate for MMR vaccination among kindergartners was slightly above 95 percent in 2019, the level of community protection scientists say is needed to prevent measles outbreaks. But that rate is now under 93 percent and falling, according to the CDC.
Even in states with high vaccination coverage, pockets of unvaccinated people tend to cluster together. Measles is so contagious that a person without immunity exposed to the virus is highly likely to be infected and to spread it days before they develop symptoms.
Advertisement
A recent study showed that if US vaccination rates continue to decline, the nation could face millions of cases over the next 25 years.
A poll conducted in March by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the de Beaumont Foundation found that 79 percent of adults say parents should be required to have children vaccinated against preventable diseases such as measles, mumps, and rubella to attend school. Support was stronger among Democrats, 90 percent, than among Republicans, 68 percent.
Five years after the start of the coronavirus pandemic, less than half the public says it has at least some confidence in federal health agencies to carry out core public health responsibilities, according to a poll conducted in April by the health care think tank KFF.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime antivaccine activist who ascended to
be the top US health official, has offered mixed messages about measles and the vaccine to prevent it.
He initially downplayed the seriousness of the Texas outbreak after the first child died, saying: 'We have measles outbreaks every year.' He accompanied his calls for vaccination with caveats, raising concerns about the shots that public health experts called unfounded.
Nola Jean Ernest, a pediatrician in rural southeastern Alabama, said many of her patients trust others who share their political views more than her when it comes to vaccination.
She now sees patients who vaccinated older children refuse to vaccinate their infants.
'I've had several conversations in the last few months where they will say, 'We still trust you, we just don't trust the vaccines,'' Ernest said recently. 'That really breaks my heart.'
Advertisement
In Texas, infections in late January spread quickly within Gaines County's Mennonite community, some of whom educate their children at home or at private schools without vaccine mandates. The county had among the lowest kindergarten MMR vaccination rates in Texas, about 82 percent, according to state immunization data.
Public health officials said they faced challenges in controlling the outbreak because many people were not getting tested or vaccinated for measles.
Antivaccine groups mobilized quickly on the ground. Many Mennonite families turned to a prominent antivaccine doctor who offered unproven alternative treatments. Kennedy praised that doctor and his methods in a visit to the region.
Children's Health Defense, an antivaccine group founded by Kennedy, interviewed the parents of a 6-year-old girl who died of measles, blaming her death on medical error rather than vaccination status. The organization did not immediately return a request for comment.
Eventually, 36 Texas counties reported measles cases.
Young adults from El Paso who work in oil fields close to Gaines County were among those infected this spring.
El Paso went from five cases to 53 in a month, said Hector Ocaranza, director of the city and county health authority. Ocaranza said his community was vulnerable because a growing number of young adults, listening to what they see and hear on social media, are not getting vaccinated.
Lara Anton, a spokeswoman for the Texas Health Department, said last week that the reporting of new measles cases has slowed, crediting rising population
immunity from infections and increased vaccination.
But the outbreak is not over.
Advertisement
Transmission is continuing in Gaines County, as well as Lamar County, in northeast Texas bordering Oklahoma, according to health department data.
In Chihuahua, Mexico, which borders Texas and New Mexico, a child who visited Texas in February started a large measles outbreak that now exceeds 2,400 cases and eight deaths as of last week, according to data from the Pan American Health Organization.
Measles outbreaks require vast personnel, time, dollars, and messaging, public health experts say.
The 2019 outbreak cost New York City $8.4 million with 550 staff involved in the response, according to a 2020 report in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Funding for state and local public health agencies, including immunization programs, has been slashed after increasing during the pandemic. Public health workers have been laid off because of widespread budget cuts across the federal health agencies.
Because of the decreased funding, Texas
had to pull resources and staff from other parts of its health department to respond to the outbreak, David Sugerman, a senior CDC scientist, told a committee of agency vaccine advisers in April.
In Dallas, which has had one measles case this year, health officials had to lay off 16 immunization staff because of federal cuts, said
Philip Huang, director of the county's health and human services department.
'The fact that this is occurring at the same time that we are seeing more measles cases in Texas than we have seen in more than 30 years makes absolutely no sense,' Huang said.
Related
:
Related
:
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Medscape
an hour ago
- Medscape
The Vaccination Talk: Tips and Scripts
The new school year is here, and if history repeats itself, vaccination rates will continue declining and exemptions rising. It can translate to a difficult office visit for primary care physicians trying to keep their patients as healthy as possible. Among US kindergartners, vaccination coverage decreased for all reported vaccines during the 2024-2025 school year compared with the year before, according to CDC data. An estimated 286,000 kindergartners attended school last year without completing the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) series — and 1356 confirmed measles cases have been reported this year as of August 6. We asked four primary care doctors from four different states to share their scripts and tips for the often-difficult vaccination conversation. Carlos O'Bryan-Becerra, MD: Repeat, Repeat, Repeat. Plant the Seed An obstetric patient was positive for hepatitis B virus (HBV) and a vaccine skeptic. Both the mother- and father-to-be were against giving the baby the hepatitis B vaccine. 'We know the risk of transmission is high,' O'Bryan-Becerra, a family physician in Ventura, California, and a core faculty member of the Ventura County Medical Center residency program, told the couple. Carlos O'Bryan-Becerra, MD He explained a vaccination is routinely recommended for all infants at birth, and that hepatitis B immune globulin is also recommended for infants whose mother is infected with HBV to reduce the risk of the infant becoming infected during the pregnancy or at delivery. He pointed out that an infant who contracts hepatitis B has a higher risk of later getting cirrhosis and cancer. Still, the couple refused the vaccine when the newborn arrived. 'They said many doctors didn't believe [it was needed] and that big pharma was behind why we vaccinate babies,' said O'Bryan-Becerra. He kept trying, stressing the facts and that he vaccinated his own children. In the end, he was able to convince them. 'We got guidance from the [hospital] ethics committee,' he said. 'In some states, there is a lot more leniency [for exemptions]. In California, there are medical exemptions only.' There was no validated medical information that would point to a need for a medical exemption. 'So, the vaccination was clearly standard of care,' said O'Bryan-Becerra. He said that if the parents were not willing to follow the standard of care, he would have to reach out to child protective services. 'When I brought this up, the parents decided they were willing to go ahead and vaccinate the child.' 'I've been practicing 17 years and never had a scenario like this,' he said. He plans to continue talking to reluctant parents, visit after visit. He tells them: 'I know you're sick of me talking about this. But you know I bring this up because I care.' He may not convince them at that visit, but he hopes he is at least planting the seed. Emily Briggs, MD, FAAFP: Meet the Patients Where They Are Meeting the patient who is hesitant about vaccines where they are — and understanding where they got their vaccine information — is uppermost in the mind of Briggs, honorary FACOG, a private practice family physician in New Braunfels, Texas. Emily Briggs, MD, FAAFP Recently, a parent shared an unbelievable reason for declining a vaccine for her child: 'I saw if I give this vaccine to my child, it's going to make spoons stay attached to her,' she said. She elaborated, 'My child will become magnetized.' Briggs got to the source of the misinformation — a social media post. 'I went and looked for it,' Briggs said. It turned out the original post wasn't about a childhood vaccine but the COVID vaccine, and the claim had circulated widely in 2021, along with other false claims about the vaccine. At the time, the CDC debunked it quickly. Briggs told the mother what was in the vaccine her child needed and talked about decades of research on safety and effectiveness. She talked about the danger of misinformation and that some studies have been retracted or that claims on social media have been debunked. She often points to the retraction, in 2010, of the Andrew Wakefield research falsely claiming a link between the MMR vaccine and autism, first published in 1998 and later disproven. While it happened years ago, Briggs said she brings it up because parents who are unaware of the retraction still do. The parent with the magnetizing concerns agreed to let her child receive some vaccines that day. 'A month later, they came for the other half of the 2-month-old vaccines,' said Briggs, who agreed to that schedule. 'When parents can see my humanity meeting their humanity, and that we both have the best intent, we can often find common ground,' Briggs said. Brent Smith, MD, MSc, FAAFP: Watch the Body Language Pushback about mandates for COVID vaccines 'has trickled over into all vaccines in this area,' said Smith, a family physician in Greenville, Mississippi, and a board member of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Brent Smith, MD, MSc, FAAFP When parents arrive at his office with a child due for an immunization, he has learned to watch the body language. When the conversation focuses on vaccines, those who are hesitant often will tense up, he said. 'Their body language will change, or they will become a little more guarded.' Recently, when the parent of a 2-year-old brought her in for a yearly checkup, Smith reminded her that the child was behind on routine vaccines. The mother's body language changed, so he asked immediately what she'd heard that was making her uncomfortable. Most often, it's misinformation from friends or the internet. 'You have to address it step by step,' he said, telling them what the truth is. Addressing the misinformation directly and providing them with facts can give them a different perspective. The mother was strongly against the COVID and flu vaccines, in particular. Smith explained the differences between COVID and flu and their vaccines but decided for this visit to focus on the other recommended vaccines, especially as flu season was done. When Smith focused on the other vaccines that the mother didn't oppose as strongly, the mother agreed for her child to catch up with the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis, MMR, and hepatitis A vaccines. Smith said he's learned to keep perspective. 'Sometimes you have to compromise and say, 'What's the most important thing I can address or get done today?'' James B. Bigham, MD, MPH, FAAFP: 'Assume It's a Yes' In years past, pre-pandemic, physicians and patients often just assumed they'd get recommended vaccines, said Bigham, a clinical professor of family medicine and community health at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin. 'That's changed. People are opting out for various reasons.' James B. Bigham, MD, MPH, FAAFP, So, it's crucial, he said, to demonstrate confidence about vaccines — and to assume the answer will be yes. He calls it 'having a presumptive approach.' When a patient comes in and is due for a vaccine, he tells them: 'Today is a good day to give the vaccine.' If there's pushback, he said, it's important to listen to the questions. He repeats his recommendation and describes the illness the vaccine is designed to prevent. For instance: 'I strongly recommend you receive the influenza vaccine because it could make you really sick…and you might miss a couple weeks of work, or your child might miss a week or 2 of school.' Consider that some parents have no firsthand experience with some vaccine-preventable illnesses, he said, and that could explain their hesitancy. They wonder what chickenpox is, for instance, since they got the vaccine as children and have never seen a case. He takes time to answer those questions. 'It's so important now not to be dismissive,' he said.
The Hill
2 hours ago
- The Hill
Tick-borne disease spreads, causing meat, dairy allergies
Emergency room visits have spiked across the Midwest this summer as millions of Americans grapple with tick bites, but a lesser-known tick-borne illness is causing particular alarm in some communities. Alpha-gal syndrome, transmitted by the lone star tick, creates severe allergies to meat and dairy products that can last for years. The condition essentially forces people to adopt vegan diets, with some patients experiencing life-threatening reactions even to the smell of cooking meat. The lone star tick, identifiable by a white dot on the female's back, is most common from Maine to Florida and in Texas, living primarily in wooded and grassy areas. These ticks carry a sugar molecule called alpha-gal that, when transmitted to humans, triggers severe allergic reactions to mammalian products. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates as many as 450,000 people in the U.S. may have it. Patients report reactions so severe that smelling burgers on a grill can cause unconsciousness. The syndrome also affects everyday items containing animal byproducts, including lip balms, lotions and some bottled water, causing hives, coughing and wheezing. Cases have become so widespread on Martha's Vineyard that restaurants there now offer special alpha-gal menus, according to report from The New York Times. Nicole Cooper of Virginia, diagnosed with alpha-gal syndrome in December 2021, experienced symptoms for more than a year before receiving proper diagnosis. She was rushed to an emergency room unable to breathe, where doctors recognized a recurring rash on her arms. 'I was shocked when they wanted to run the blood test,' Cooper told NewsNation's ' Elizabeth Vargas Reports.' 'I was, like, no, no, I really hate ticks,' she continued. 'I always wear my bug repellent when I'm out in the woods.' She became 'fume reactive,' unable to be around cooking meat or use cast iron pans previously used for meat. Even products such as dryer balls containing lanolin, derived from sheep, became off-limits. The delayed reaction between exposure and symptoms makes alpha-gal syndrome particularly difficult to diagnose and treat. Cooper remained highly reactive for two years before her symptoms began improving through strict avoidance of mammalian products.
The Hill
2 hours ago
- The Hill
CDC funding changes inject ‘chaos' into local health programs
The Trump administration has delayed or blocked millions of dollars in federal grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), leaving state and local health departments in the dark, uncertain when or even if they will get money that's already been appropriated by Congress for key public health initiatives. With little communication from the White House, CDC staff are trying to expedite getting grants out the door, and public health officials are scrambling to spend the money they have before it expires Sept. 30. The CDC typically doles out the money it receives from Congress to state and local health departments, which in turn fund local contracts. But with the start of the new administration, the White House began to apportion money to CDC on a month-by-month basis, citing the need for external reviews. That practice stopped when the agency received a two-month apportionment through the end of the fiscal year, according to CDC employees, but some grants were delivered late while others are still being blocked. 'Everything is weeks, if not months behind schedule,' a CDC employee with knowledge of the funding situation said. Another employee noted the extra layers involved in getting funding out the door, including new external reviews being conducted by the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 'With every single award requiring DOGE review, there is fear the award may not be made before the end of the fiscal year and lapse of funds,' the employee said. Raynard Washington, director of the Mecklenburg County Public Health Department in North Carolina, said his agency laid off six workers — including half its disease investigators — after grants for HIV prevention and surveillance programs expired at the end of May with no information about future funding. The grants were eventually restored about a month later, but to date the department has only been able to bring back half of the people it laid off. 'So now we're behind, and cases are still being reported every day that have to be investigated,' Washington said. 'The more time that people may have been exposed to HIV and don't know it, or syphilis and don't know it and are getting tested and treated, those delays actually translate to potential illness.' Meanwhile, the Trump administration is preventing CDC from funding tens of millions of dollars in other awards, including for public health emergency preparedness, chronic disease prevention and education, academic prevention research centers, gun violence, and tobacco use. That means activities like training hospital staff and other health workers alongside first responders to prepare for a natural disaster are on hold. Washington said North Carolina had to lay off its team working on tobacco prevention efforts because the funding had dried up. 'These are not delays that we expect, given that Congress has appropriated funding for these initiatives,' Washington said. 'And these are things that — despite the political swings in Washington — have largely received bipartisan support, and so you don't expect that there was going to be gaps.' Philip Huang, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services in Texas, said he was waiting for nearly 30 percent of the promised award for public health emergency preparedness. The state doesn't know if that money is ever coming, Huang said. 'So, it makes it very difficult for us to plan. And many health departments don't have much buffer. If you plan and keep everything fully operational with all your staff now, and then you don't get the [remaining funding], then you're not going to be able to last through the year,' Huang said. CDC centers are currently not allowed to move funding into the blocked programs, according to employees. If that money is not apportioned by Sept. 30, it could be returned to the Treasury, a maneuver known as a 'pocket rescission' that has drawn criticism from lawmakers in both parties. Congress in July approved the White House's official rescissions proposal to claw back $9 billion of funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting. The White House would have to send another official rescission message to Congress, which Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought claims would effectively freeze the funding and cause it lapse. 'Effectively, what they're doing is keeping that money in house. We can't pull it down,' said Scott Harris, chief of the Alabama Department of Public Health and president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. 'We have grants that we thought we had access to, we suddenly have different rules about how we're allowed to spend.' Asked about the status of CDC grants, the Department of Health and Human Services referred The Hill to OMB, which did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Harris said the uncertainty is 'chaos' for health departments and makes it almost impossible to predict or plan for the future. 'We never really know month to month if a program's still going to be here anymore,' Harris said. 'We have serious concerns about whether all of the money that has been awarded will be spent before the end of the fiscal year. New instructions on which types of expenditures are allowable will prevent us from supporting much of the programmatic work that the grants are designed to fund.'
