US loses measles elimination status amid surge in cases: Report

The U.S.’s measles elimination status has been revoked after 26 years as the highly contagious disease continues to spread across the country, marking a major setback for public health officials amid declining vaccination rates.The Pan American Health Organization, part of the public health arm of the United Nations, determined that measles had circulated continuously in the United States for more than 12 months, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing people familiar with the decision.The designation, which the U.S. first achieved in 2000, signified that the country had successfully stopped sustained domestic transmission of the virus. It did not mean that measles had been eradicated or that isolated cases could not occur. Although there is no penalty for a country losing its measles elimination status, the decision from the PAHO is likely to be a black mark on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.‘s tenure. Kennedy has a history of vaccine skepticism that has cast a shadow over his public health leadership.The decision follows one of the worst measles resurgences in more than three decades, with thousands of Americans infected and outbreaks spreading across dozens of states.More than 5,400 cases have been reported nationwide in 2026, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, surpassing 2,289 reported cases in 2025. At least 10 measles-related deaths have been reported this year.Public health experts have attributed the resurgence largely to declining childhood vaccination rates, which have fallen well below the level needed to prevent widespread outbreaks. The national vaccination rate among kindergarteners has dropped approximately 92.4%, below the 95% threshold generally needed to prevent sustained transmission, according to the CDC.The international health body reviewed epidemiological and laboratory evidence submitted by the CDC to determine whether the virus had circulated uninterrupted for at least a year. The question at the core of the review was whether or not the strain of measles from the various outbreaks across the country is genetically similar enough to be considered a continuously transmitted virus.MEASLES CASES RACE PAST 5,000: CDCThe U.S. is not alone in experiencing a resurgence of the disease. Canada lost its measles elimination status in November 2025, with more than 5,100 confirmed cases during the yearlong outbreak. Spain and the United Kingdom have also recently had their measles elimination designations withdrawn following prolonged outbreaks.The Washington Examiner reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services for comment.