US loses measles-elimination status after 26 years, WSJ reports
The Pan American Health Organization has reportedly stripped the US of its measles-elimination status after 26 years, as the country battles its worst outbreaks in more than three decades.
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has stripped the United States of its measles-elimination status after a 26-year streak, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. This decision comes after the organization found the country failed to maintain continuous measles transmission for a year or more, CNN cited a source close to the process.
The World Health Organization's representative body to the Americas reviewed CDC evidence to determine if the United States had met the criteria for elimination, Reuters reported a CDC source. CDC data showed 5,182 confirmed cases of measles across 45 states, New York City, and Washington, D.C. this year, more than double the total of 2,289 cases in 2025.
Nearly all cases involved unvaccinated individuals, and about one in nine patients required hospitalization, according to the CDC. Experts attribute the resurgence to increased vaccine hesitancy, with US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. expressing skepticism about measles vaccines without scientific proof. Noel Brewer, a University of North Carolina public health professor, emphasized that measles is entirely preventable through vaccination.
Johns Hopkins epidemiologist William Moss noted that the loss damages America's reputation as a public health leader, and large outbreaks are likely to continue. CDC Director Erica Schwartz pledged to continue working with states to encourage vaccination. To regain the status, a country must end transmission and remain outbreak-free for at least 12 months.
Written by urgent.news from Deutsche Welle Science's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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