Since January 2025, the United States has been confronting its most significant measles outbreak in over a decade. The disease, declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, has been confirmed to have infected over 700 people across 24 states, leading to multiple child fatalities.
Outbreaks, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines as three or more related cases, have been confirmed in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, and Washington.
States like Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, and Ohio have been hit hardest. Texas was also the first state to report cases and has confirmed more than 500 confirmed infections since.
What caused this?
The outbreak began in Gaines County, an area with lower than average vaccination rates. The CDC reports that 97% of those infected were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status, with children under 19 accounting for 70% of cases.
The CDC has reported 79 hospitalizations, with 45 of them being children under the age of 5. Two otherwise healthy, unvaccinated children have died in Texas. The outbreak has been tied to declining vaccination rates due to vaccine skepticism as well as a lack of funding for health departments made worse by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Kennedy Jr., who has long faced criticism for his anti-vaccine activism, was appointed Secretary of Health and Human Services by President Donald Trump. Many have pointed out what they perceive as inconsistent messaging as well as the promotion of scientifically unproven treatments like vitamin A supplements and cod liver oil.
As a result of the $2 billion cut to federal vaccine program funding, more than 250 vaccination clinics have closed or had their programs suspended.
Nationally, only 11 states meet the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccination coverage of 95% required for herd immunity.
How to avoid getting measles
The measles virus itself is airborne, traveling through the air in droplets when an infected person sneezes, coughs, or talks. The droplets have been reported to linger in the air for up to 2 hours.
Symptoms usually present themselves within 10-12 days after exposure and last 7-10 days and include cough, sore throat, inflamed eyes, and a blotchy skin rash. Possible complications from the disease include pneumonia, encephalitis, or a middle ear infection.
The best preventative measure against contracting measles is the MMR vaccine. The CDC reports that just one dose of the vaccine is 93% effective at preventing measles, and the recommended two doses are about 97%.
The first dose is recommended at infancy at around 12-15 months of age, with a second at 4-6 years old. However, older children and adults are also recommended to get it if they have no signs of immunity.
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