Overview
- CDC data released July 24 shows 2,318 confirmed measles cases in 2026, surpassing all of 2025 and marking the highest U.S. total in 35 years.
- Most infections are spread across 45 U.S. jurisdictions with large outbreaks centered in states such as South Carolina and Utah.
- About 93% of cases this year were in people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown and roughly 31% of cases were adults aged 20 and older.
- There have been 151 hospitalizations in 2026 and no deaths reported so far, and intensive contact tracing and vaccination work are straining local public‑health resources.
- Kindergarten MMR coverage has fallen from about 95.2% in 2019–20 to 92.5% in 2024–25, leaving many counties below the roughly 95% immunity threshold needed to stop measles and increasing the chance that PAHO will review the U.S. elimination designation in November.