The United States had 5,412 measles cases this year through Nov. 12 as KFF Health News reported researchers said a Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) review found the country no longer met elimination criteria.
KFF cited researchers with direct knowledge of the deliberations. PAHO had yet to formally communicate a determination. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) counted 2,289 cases in all of 2025, so this year’s total is already more than double that figure. The 2026 tally includes 43 new outbreaks; 5,216 cases were outbreak-associated, including 1,385 linked to outbreaks that began in 2025.
The CDC listed 591 hospitalizations and six deaths this year, noting the death count could change. It said 96% of cases involved people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown. Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination coverage among kindergartners fell from 95.2% in the 2019-20 school year to 92.4% in 2025-26. The CDC says coverage above 95% helps protect communities and estimated about 280,000 kindergartners were at risk in 2025-26.
PAHO defines endemic transmission as re-established when the same measles virus genotype and lineage spread without interruption for at least 12 months. Its review commission met Nov. 10-13 to examine epidemiological, laboratory, vaccination, surveillance and outbreak-response evidence. PAHO’s materials identify Jan. 20, 2025, as the start of the U.S. assessment period, when reported outbreaks began. Elimination means endemic spread has been interrupted in a country; it does not mean measles has been eradicated worldwide.
Infants too young to be vaccinated and people unable to receive the vaccine face greater risk when measles spreads, KFF reported. Reuters quoted Noel Brewer, a public health professor at the University of North Carolina, as saying, “It is a fully preventable disease. It is unconscionable that we have this amount of measles.”
The CDC says the United States achieved measles elimination in 2000. PAHO said the Americas lost regional measles-free status in 2025 after Canada re-established endemic transmission. A country can regain verified status after at least 12 months without endemic spread. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) later said Canada’s outbreak ended while it still lacked elimination status.
Under PAHO procedure, the commission sends its conclusion to the director, who considers it before formal communication. KFF reported a public announcement was planned for Tuesday, Nov. 17.
