There have been more measles cases reported in the U.S. this year than in any other year since the disease was declared eliminated in the country a quarter-century ago, according to a new count.
At least 1,277 cases have been reported as of Monday, surpassing the previous record set in 2019 despite this year being only halfway over, according to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s U.S. Measles Tracker.
Researchers blamed “long-standing gaps in measles vaccine coverage” for the case surge while noting that nearly all of this year’s cases — about 92%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — have occurred among those who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown.
“The U.S. is at risk of losing its measles elimination status should cases continue at this rate,” said the executive director of Johns Hopkins’ International Vaccine Access Center, William Moss, who co-leads the school’s measles tracking project. “As vaccine confidence continues to be undermined, immunization is more important than ever to end this outbreak and prevent future outbreaks from occurring.”
Vaccine rates have been dropping in recent years, with coverage among U.S. kindergarteners falling from 95.2% to 92.7% during the 2023–2024 school year. A coverage rate of 95% or lower puts children at heightened risk of localized outbreaks because community immunity, also known as herd immunity, is achieved only when the vaccination rate is above 95%, according to the CDC.
Approximately 88% of all confirmed cases this year have been associated with one of 27 known outbreaks, health officials said. For comparison, there were 16 outbreaks in 2024, which 69% of the year’s 285 confirmed cases were linked to.
The disease was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000, with the CDC attributing this success to a highly effective vaccination program and better measles control in the Americas region. The milestone, which meant that there was no continuous transmission for more than 12 months, was considered one of public health’s greatest achievements.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has no formal medical background, has offered inconsistent and tepid support for the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine and has encouraged untested treatments for the disease.
In April, he falsely said that the MMR vaccine hasn’t been “safely tested” and that the protection it offers is short-lived. Kennedy was a vocal anti-vaccine activist before his appointment to the Donald Trump administration.
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The U.S. was last at risk of losing its measles elimination status in 2019, when more than 1,274 measles cases were reported due to a surge in outbreaks, particularly in New York. Cases dropped to just 13 the following year, which was the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Despite the growing number of cases this year, the disease is still considered eliminated in the U.S., which is not the same as eradicated.
The vast majority of cases this year have been in Texas, where two school-aged children died while living in outbreak areas. Both children were not vaccinated and had no known underlying conditions, according to the state’s health department.
Kennedy’s office did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.