U.S. Must Urgently Change Course After Heartbreaking Loss Of Measles Elimination Status
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Pan American Health Organization has revoked the measles elimination status of the United States, according to multiple news media reports. The decision, expected to be officially announced later this week, reflects the uninterrupted transmission of the highly contagious infection within the country for more than a year.
As of November 12, 2026, there have been 5,412 confirmed measles cases in 46 states and the District of Columbia, as compared to 2,289 confirmed cases in 2025 and 285 in 2024, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). So far in 2026, there have been about 10 measles deaths. To regain elimination status, held since 2000, the United States must again halt continuous measles transmission for at least 12 months, which may take decades to achieve.
Robert Steinbrook, M.D., Health Research Group director for Public Citizen, issued the following statement:
“This is a heartbreaking moment. Measles outbreaks are entirely preventable with adequate vaccination levels, and result in pointless suffering, hospitalizations and deaths.
“Although measles vaccination levels worsened before the second Trump administration, the dramatic upsurge of cases coincides with the tenure of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services Secretary. Kennedy’s anti-vaccine rhetoric and actions and his refusal to let the CDC lead with necessary public health actions to bolster measles immunization rates has made a very bad situation far worse. The federal government must urgently change course, or more Americans will needlessly suffer and die.”