CDC data show measles cases in the United States have passed 4,500 so far this year as kindergarten vaccination coverage stands at 92.4%, below the level the agency associates with community protection.
The 2026 tally has surpassed the 2,289 confirmed cases recorded in all of 2025, according to CDC data cited by CBS News. CBS reported that this year's total is the highest in more than three decades so far. CDC figures show 1,274 cases in 2019, when outbreaks occurred in New York, California and Washington state. More than 750 cases in 2025 were linked to a West Texas outbreak that killed two children, CBS reported.
EconoTimes previously cited 4,410 confirmed U.S. cases through Oct. 15 in a report on four states' request for the CDC to revisit measles test validation.
CDC figures put kindergarten MMR vaccination coverage at 92.4% in 2025-26, compared with 92.5% in 2024-25 and 95.2% in 2019-20. The agency says vaccination rates above 95% can protect most people in a community through community immunity. CDC data cited by CBS showed that 10 states reached the 95% threshold in 2025-26.
CBS News reported that most cases involved unvaccinated people and that outbreaks occurred in communities with lower vaccination rates. The outlet cited health experts who pointed to declining vaccination as a major factor in rising cases of preventable diseases such as measles.
National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya urged parents to vaccinate children against measles and other routine childhood diseases on CBS' “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” saying it is “very important that parents vaccinate their kids.”
