US measles cases in 2026 have topped 5,000, the highest in 35 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which released the official count on Nov. 6. NBC News reports that the country is on the verge of losing its measles elimination status.
The CDC reported 5,182 confirmed measles cases in the US so far in 2026, according to Al Jazeera. The Straits Times reports that the official count is the highest the CDC has recorded since 1991. By comparison, there were 2,289 confirmed cases in all of 2025, according to the Straits Times.
Children and teenagers make up about 59 percent of confirmed cases, and 4,993 cases were outbreak-associated, according to Al Jazeera. The same report says kindergarten vaccination coverage fell from 95.2 percent in 2019-2020 to 92.4 percent in 2025-2026.
Pennsylvania is the hardest-hit state. Its Department of Health reported 1,487 cases and six measles deaths this year, according to Al Jazeera.
The US declared measles eliminated more than two decades ago. The Straits Times reports that it was declared eradicated in 2000 thanks to vaccination.
The number of measles deaths in 2026 differs by source. Al Jazeera reports four deaths nationally according to the CDC, and six in Pennsylvania alone. The Straits Times, citing state health officials, reports at least eight measles-related deaths, but it does not name the sources for that figure, so it is unconfirmed.
The difference stems from how deaths are classified. Pennsylvania counts a death as measles-associated when a confirmed case dies within 30 days of symptoms, unless an unrelated event caused the death. The CDC has removed deaths that Pennsylvania counts. In August, the CDC initially counted two Pennsylvania deaths, then removed them after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. questioned the classification.
Kennedy is known for vaccine skepticism, and the Straits Times reports that he is accused of fanning distrust in vaccines. Pediatrician Adam Ratner told AFP that the deaths are "tragic, and that is completely preventable."
The CDC says it is working on a standard definition for measles deaths. It is working with the US Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists to set that definition. The sources do not give a date for it.
The elimination status claim rests on NBC News, which was available only as a headline and short excerpt, so its claims about deaths in Pennsylvania, New York and Wisconsin, and about elimination status, are unverified beyond that. The sources also do not include a response from Kennedy or the CDC to the death-classification dispute, a date for any decision on elimination status, or how many 2026 cases are in states other than Pennsylvania.
Sources
This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.