U.S. Measles Resurgence Puts Elimination Status at Risk
WHO:
The Guardian - Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. Health and Human Services secretary, replaced vaccine advisers on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) with allies he selected.
The Guardian - Yvonne “Bonnie” Maldonado, Stanford Medicine infectious-diseases chief and former ACIP member; Noel Brewer, University of North Carolina professor and former ACIP member; Edwin Asturias, University of Colorado pediatric infectious-disease professor and former ACIP member; and Paul Offit, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia infectious-diseases physician and former ACIP member, discussed possible responses to the outbreak.
ABC News - Paul Offit is director of the Vaccine Education Center and an attending physician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Peter Hotez is dean of Baylor College of Medicine’s National School of Tropical Medicine and co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development.
ABC News - The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) appointed an independent panel of experts in epidemiology, public health, virology, pediatrics, and immunization to assess U.S. measles-elimination status.
WHAT:
The Guardian - Three measles-associated deaths were announced in a week, including a seven-month-old baby in New York and a postpartum woman in Pennsylvania. The New York infant was unvaccinated; Wisconsin officials also reported an infant death. The two states had not recorded measles-associated deaths in three decades.
The Guardian - A federal judge halted ACIP’s work, finding that the Trump administration had not properly constituted the committee. The CDC is accepting nominations for a new committee.
The Guardian - ACIP could consider adult vaccination, earlier childhood MMR doses in outbreak areas, and targeted vaccination campaigns. CDC guidance permits an MMR first dose from six months of age during outbreaks and a second dose as soon as four weeks after the first; the routine second dose is given between ages four and six.
ABC News - The United States has recorded at least 5,182 measles cases this year, across 45 states and Washington, D.C.; 11 deaths have been confirmed over nearly two years, largely among unvaccinated people or people too young to be vaccinated.
ABC News - The PAHO review will determine whether evidence shows a year of continuous U.S. transmission, which could mean the country has lost its measles-elimination status.
WHERE:
ABC News - Outbreaks have been reported in Texas, Utah, Arizona, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania, among other states.
WHEN:
ABC News - The PAHO commission’s closed-door meeting is scheduled for “Nov. 10 and Nov. 13.”
The Guardian - Brewer said the process of considering and adopting new recommendations typically took “between 12 to 18 months.”
WHY:
The Guardian - Former advisers said the absence of a functioning ACIP has made it harder for the U.S. to respond as cases and deaths rise; Maldonado said, “That’s going to impact disease and deaths in the US.”
ABC News - The status review hinges on whether outbreaks can be connected into 12 months of continuous transmission. Hotez said, “Measles is back.”
HOW:
ABC News - Measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000 after at least 12 months without continuous spread. The commission assesses and re-verifies measles and rubella elimination among countries in the Americas.
ABC News - Before vaccination, the CDC estimated 3–4 million U.S. measles illnesses annually, about 48,000 hospitalizations, 400–500 deaths, and roughly 1,000 cases of encephalitis. The first measles vaccine became available in 1963; confirmed cases fell from 385,165 that year to 26,686 in 1973.
(UPDATED November 10, 2026 19:08 UTC)
America has recorded more than 5,100 measles cases this year, with 11 confirmed deaths, mostly among unvaccinated people. A judge halted vaccine advisers’ work. An independent panel will assess whether measles elimination status is at risk.