US measles cases at highest levels since 1989, as vaccinations decline
The United States has recorded its highest number of measles cases since 1989, with over 2,300 infections reported by July 2026. Health officials attribute the surge to a steady decline in childhood vaccination rates following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Why it matters
The resurgence of a preventable, highly contagious disease highlights a critical public health crisis and the erosion of herd immunity in the US.
The United States has confirmed 2318 measles infections this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, surpassing the 2025 tally to reach the highest annual total in 35 years, amid declining vaccination rates.
The overall 2026 figures represent the highest number of US cases in a single year since a major resurgence of the highly contagious disease in the period from 1989 to 1991, with more than 55,000 infections and 123 deaths.
"Reaching this milestone is particularly striking because we are only in July, and measles cases are still being reported throughout the country," said William Moss, epidemiology professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Young people, ranging from infants to age 19, made up 69 percent of cases tracked through to 23 July, with children younger than five comprising a fifth of those infected this year, the CDC said.
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