US loses measles-free status amid continued spread

The Pan American Health Organization (Paho) has stripped the United States of its measles-elimination status after 26 years, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. The decision comes as the US grapples with its highest number of measles cases in over three decades. Between 2025 and 2026, 7,500 people in the US contracted measles, resulting in 13 deaths.

This outbreak coincides with declining immunization rates and rising vaccine hesitancy driven by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s baseless doubts about vaccine safety. Paho reviewed epidemiological and laboratory evidence to confirm whether the same strain of measles was circulating continuously in the US for 12 months or more, indicating local transmission rather than imported cases.

As of reporting, 5,182 confirmed measles cases had been reported in 2026 across 45 states, New York City, and the District of Columbia, surpassing last year's total of 2,289 and marking one of the country's worst measles resurgences in decades. To maintain measles elimination, a country must achieve 95% vaccination coverage, creating herd immunity that safeguards those unable to receive the vaccine.

Two doses of the measles vaccine provide 97% protection against the virus, which can lead to blindness, deafness, brain damage, or death.