US measles cases reach 2,073 in 2026, on pace to exceed 2025 three-decade high, 30 outbreaks drive 93% of cases across 40 jurisdictions
The US has logged 2,073 confirmed measles cases in 2026, already on pace to pass last year's worst total in over three decades. CDC data show 30 separate outbreaks driving 93% of cases across 40 jurisdictions. About 6% of patients have been hospitalized. No deaths reported this y
Unvaccinated communities across the United States are facing the largest measles year in over three decades. The CDC has confirmed 2,073 measles cases in 2026 as of June 11, a total already on pace to surpass 2025, which itself set the highest count the country had seen in more than thirty years. The pattern points to sustained local transmission rather than isolated travel cases. Thirty separate outbreaks account for 93% of all confirmed infections, and cases have now been reported across 40 jurisdictions. About 6% of patients, roughly 124 people, have required hospitalization, with young children among the most affected. No measles deaths have been recorded so far in 2026, a contrast with 2025, when two children and one adult, all unvaccinated, died. Measles spreads more easily than almost any other human virus, and an infected person can transmit it for days before the telltale rash appears. Protection relies on high community vaccination coverage, since the virus quickly finds pockets where immunization rates have slipped. Two doses of the MMR vaccine provide strong, long-lasting protection. The persistence and geographic reach of this year's outbreaks have led public health officials to warn that the United States risks losing the measles elimination status it has held for decades.