The United States has reportedly lost its measles elimination status after 26 years, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Friday that cited people familiar with the matter. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reportedly found that the US failed to stop measles spreading continuously for more than a year.
PAHO has not publicly confirmed the decision. The report rests on unnamed sources cited by the Wall Street Journal, and PAHO and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were not immediately available for comment. PAHO did not respond to Reuters.
According to DW, PAHO reviewed CDC evidence on whether one strain circulated for 12 months or longer. The Hindu reported that PAHO reviewed epidemiological and laboratory evidence on whether the same strain spread uninterrupted in the US for that period, which would point to local rather than imported transmission. The Reuters report on the 12-month finding was not available to this reporter; only an excerpt from DW was reviewed.
The reported loss follows a sharp rise in cases. According to The Hindu, the CDC recorded 5,182 confirmed measles cases in 2026 as of Thursday, across 45 states, New York City and Washington, D.C. That is more than double the 2025 total of 2,289. Straits Times (SG), citing the CDC and Bloomberg, reports a higher figure of 5,412 cases so far in 2026. The two counts differ and have not been reconciled.
According to CNN, citing the CDC, about 7,500 people have been infected and 13 have died in the US since 2025, and nearly all 2026 cases involved unvaccinated people or people of unknown vaccination status. Straits Times (SG) reports that nine US measles deaths have occurred this year. The death toll is unreconciled: the CDC recognizes six, after a dispute with Pennsylvania over classification, according to Straits Times (SG).
Utah’s outbreak, which began in June 2025 and has infected more than 700 people, reportedly met the criteria that led to the loss of status, according to Straits Times (SG). Utah’s public health experts have said the case count may be undercounted, though no official figure is given. Pennsylvania has recorded more than 1,500 cases since April, the largest US outbreak in 2026, the same outlet reported.
The US achieved measles elimination in 2000, and Canada lost its status a year ago, according to Straits Times (SG). HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has for years spread doubts, without scientific evidence, about the safety of the measles vaccine, according to The Hindu. The CDC said two doses of the MMR vaccine are 97% effective against the virus, according to Straits Times (SG) and The Hindu. Only 87.2% of Utah kindergartners received the MMR vaccine in 2025-2026, according to the CDC via Straits Times (SG).
The sources do not include a response from HHS or Secretary Kennedy. PAHO’s formal decision and any US response are pending. CDC Director Erica Schwartz said the agency will keep working with states to encourage vaccination. Regaining status requires ending transmission and staying free of outbreaks for at least 12 months.
Sources
This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.