US Loses Measles Elimination Status After 26 Years as Cases Hit Highest Level Since 1991 and Deaths Climb

WASHINGTON — The United States has lost its status as a country that has eliminated measles, ending a 26-year run, according to multiple reports. It is a major setback for public health as the country faces its worst measles year in more than three decades.

The Pan American Health Organization, the World Health Organization's regional office for the Americas, has revoked the U.S. elimination status, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. The Washington Post and CNN reported the same, citing people familiar with the matter. An official announcement is pending.

Under PAHO's rules, a country loses elimination status when the same strain of measles spreads continuously for more than 12 months.

A year of outbreaks

The decision follows a resurgence that began with a major outbreak in West Texas in January 2025 and continued with sustained outbreaks in Utah, Arizona and other states.

More than 5,400 measles cases have been reported in the U.S. this year, the highest number since 1991 and more than double the 2,289 cases reported in 2025. CNN reported 10 measles-associated deaths so far in 2026, half of them in the past two weeks. Reuters put the toll at 13 deaths since 2025.

Earlier this month, New York reported a child's death, the state's first recorded measles death in more than 30 years.

The U.S. achieved measles elimination in 2000.

'Harder than the first time'

Public health experts say falling vaccination rates are largely to blame. The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is about 97% effective after two doses, and elimination generally requires about 95% two-dose coverage.

"Regaining elimination is going to be harder for us than it was the first time," said Janet Hamilton, executive director of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists.

William Moss, an epidemiology professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said the loss is a blow to the country's reputation as a public health leader.

CDC Director Erica Schwartz told Reuters before the decision that the agency would be doing "the same exact thing" if the U.S. lost its status, continuing to work with states to encourage vaccination.

Political backdrop

The loss comes as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has for years spread doubts without scientific evidence about vaccine safety, oversees federal health policy. The federal count of measles deaths has also been the subject of a dispute between Kennedy and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro over how deaths are classified.

Not alone

Canada lost its measles elimination status last year, which also stripped the Americas region as a whole of its measles-free designation. Spain and the United Kingdom have also recently lost their status, and Mexico is at risk.

Losing the status carries no direct penalties. To regain it, the U.S. must interrupt transmission and remain free of continuous spread for at least 12 months.