U.S. measles cases reach 35-year high in 2026, surpassing last year’s total

Health newsU.S. measles cases reach 35-year high in 2026, surpassing last year’s total The sharp rise in cases comes amid a decadeslong decline in childhood vaccination rates.Listen to this article with a free profile00:0000:00A sign outside a mobile clinic offering measles and flu vaccinations in February in Spartanburg, S.C.Sean Rayford / Getty Images fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJuly 24, 2026, 11:05 AM EDTBy Erika EdwardsThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday that the United States has logged 2,318 measles cases in the first seven months of this year, surpassing last year’s total of 2,289. Subscribe to read this story ad-freeGet unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.It’s the largest number of measles cases the U.S. has seen in 35 years, and comes amid a decadeslong slide in childhood vaccination rates. The majority of infected people — 93%, according to the CDC — are unvaccinated.“We have joined the rank of countries where vaccination is not reaching the levels needed to protect all of our children against some of the most contagious diseases,” said Dr. Richard Besser, a pediatrician and president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. When vaccine levels dip, measles is usually the first vaccine-preventable disease to rise because it’s by far the most contagious. “Measles is the canary in the coal mine. What it’s saying is that our communities are vulnerable, not just from measles, but from whooping cough, meningitis, chicken pox and other diseases that are readily controllable with vaccines,” Besser said. “We’re on a crash course.”The wave has been building since January 2025. That month, Dr. Richard Eby, a family medicine doctor, was working a weekend shift at Permian Regional Medical Center in Andrews, Texas, about two hours south of Lubbock, when he saw his first measles case. The child needed to be admitted for dehydration and shortness of breath. Eby knew there’d be more. The child’s mother told him that class...