US Breaks New Measles Record, Surpassing 1,500 Cases – The Most In 33 Years

The US has hit a regrettable new measles milestone, with over 1,500 cases reported in the country so far this year. This is the highest number since the disease was locally eliminated at the turn of the century.

The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

Although weekly cases are well down compared to the peak of the outbreak in March of this year, it’s a concerning record that could have devastating consequences for children, the unvaccinated, or anyone with a weakened immune system.

According to new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data, as of September 30, there have been a total of 1,544 confirmed cases of measles in the United States in 2025. This is the highest since 1992, which saw 2,126 cases, and well above 2019’s modern record of 1,274 – the highest since the disease was declared eliminated in the US in 2000.

Almost all (92 percent) of these infections have involved people who are unvaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status. So far, 191 people have been hospitalized and three have died – the first measles deaths in the US in a decade – with the worst-affected states being Texas and New Mexico, the latter of which declared the end of its large-scale outbreak at the end of last week.

For comparison, last year, there were just 285 cases reported, and 59 in 2023.

This latest turning point has long been anticipated – the country surpassed 1,000 cases back in May. Reports do appear to be declining week over week, but cases are still cropping up across the country. Just this week, officials in Orange County, California, and Cook County, Illinois, each reported a single new case of measles, while Minnesota confirmed 10 novel cases.

Measles outbreaks are entirely preventable thanks to vaccines. It is because of a sustained vaccination effort that the US officially eliminated measles 25 years ago. However, this progress is now being undone as vaccination rates are falling amid a wave of anti-vax sentiment at the highest level.

The CDC states: “The measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine is very safe and effective. When more than 95 percent of people in a community are vaccinated [...], most people are protected through community immunity (herd immunity).”

Unfortunately, vaccination coverage among US kindergartners has fallen below this threshold, decreasing from 95.2 percent during the 2019–2020 school year to 92.7 percent in the 2023–2024 school year, leaving approximately 280,000 children at risk.

Now, this once-eliminated disease is at risk of becoming endemic once again. Research published earlier this year suggested that if childhood vaccination rates stay as they are at present, the US could see as many as 851,300 measles cases over the next quarter of a century, leading to 170,200 hospitalizations and 2,550 deaths. 

If things get worse, however, that number could skyrocket. Under a 50 percent decline in vaccination, the researchers predicted 51.2 million measles cases. In this worst-case scenario, it could be endemic within five years.

“With measles, we found that we’re already on the precipice of disaster,” lead author Dr Mathew Kiang said in a statement at the time.

“It’s worth emphasizing that there really shouldn’t be any cases at this point, because these diseases are preventable. Anything above zero is tragic. When you’re talking about potentially thousands or millions, that’s unfathomable.”