The US is weeks away from losing measles-free status: Here's what experts say docs must do now
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This is the most cases in the US over the past 30-plus years... We anticipate that come January or so, the US is likely to lose that measles elimination status, because that will be 12 months of sustained transmission.
—Dean Blumberg, MD, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at UC Davis Children’s Hospital
Canada has lost its official measles-free status, and experts warn that the United States isn’t far behind.[]
There have been more than 1,700 confirmed cases of measles in the US as of November 12, 2025, but experts say the number is likely higher.[]
“This is the most cases in the US over the past 30-plus years, and it's resulted in three deaths. So we anticipate that come January or so, the US is likely to lose that measles elimination status, because that will be 12 months of sustained transmission,” Dean Blumberg, MD, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at UC Davis Children’s Hospital, tells MDLinx.
CDC data show measles cases across 43 US jurisdictions.[] So far, in 2025, 45 outbreaks have been reported. By comparison, last year, 16 outbreaks were reported in total.
Experts say declining vaccination rates are a key factor in the rise in measles cases across the country.
The major issue is that there's been an increase in vaccine hesitancy, and measles is basically the canary in the coal mine.
—Dean Blumberg, MD
“Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to humans, and so if you have even a small dip in the immunization rate, that leads to [a] decrease in population immunity, which allows for sustained transmission. So that's happened—certainly in the US, it's been quite high-profile, but it's happened all over the world where you've had some vaccine hesitancy,” Dr. Blumberg says.
A lack of trust
William Schaffner, MD, an expert in infectious diseases and vaccination at Vanderbilt University, says that misinformation has caused people to lose trust not only in vaccines but also in their physicians.
“There's so much scepticism about vaccines … A lot of that information is coming from Washington these days, and that makes parents uneasy and concerned and more reluctant. They let their children go unvaccinated for longer periods of time, not even having trust in their own physicians,” Dr. Schaffner says.
Related: 'Should health experts publicly discredit the CDC?'Dr. Schaffner says that physicians play an important role in conveying the safety and efficacy of the measles vaccine to patients.
“The vaccine has been literally used in the billions of doses around the world for the last 4 decades, and it is safe and it is wonderfully effective. It's among our most effective vaccines. If you get the two doses as recommended, that gives you somewhere between 97% and 98% protection for the rest of your life against this disease, and even if you happen to be one of those rare breakthrough infections, the illness is milder than it would have been had you been completely susceptible. It's a stunningly successful vaccine,” Dr. Schaffner says.
Clarity in vaccination recommendations
The experts who spoke with MDLinx emphasize that one of the most important aspects of increasing measles vaccination rates is clarifying vaccine recommendations. This is something that both Drs. Schaffner and Blumberg agree has been a point of confusion.
“What we need is public health messaging that is clear and consistent, and what we've had over the past year is anything but clear and consistent messaging. In the US, the messaging has been unclear. It's been confusing. It's been contradictory at times ... I think this has left not only parents but also healthcare providers confused about what the actual recommendations are, and that's what's leading to [a] decrease in vaccination rate,” Dr. Blumberg says.
“In the past, we've looked at the CDC [and] the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to be leaders in terms of providing messaging and providing guidance for how we speak to parents and our patients ... As it's currently constructed, the ACIP is not a reliable body, and so we're looking at other sources, like the Vaccine Integrity Project, for example, which is running similar to how the ACIP ran in the past. [It’s] relying on scientific information data. [It’s] relying on transparency, without conflicts of interest, and so [it’s] replacing, basically, that messaging,” Dr. Blumberg adds.