Measles cases surpass last year's total with 5 months left in 2026

Just seven months into 2026, measles cases in the U.S. have surpassed last year's total and represent the highest number of such cases recorded in the United States since the highly contagious disease was eliminated from the country nearly three decades ago, according to new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. "The number of measles cases reported in the United States over the past 18 months exceeds the combined total of the previous 25 years," Dr. Richard Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a statement shared with USA TODAY. "Crossing this threshold is a tragic reminder that measles has made an alarming comeback in the United States." As of Thursday, July 23, approximately 2,318 measles cases from 35 separate outbreaks have reached 43 states and Washington, D.C., since the beginning of 2026, according to the CDC, resulting in at least 151 hospitalizations. The majority, 93%, occurred in unvaccinated people, and nearly 69% occurred in children ages 19 and younger. No deaths have been reported. Declining protections have also been attributed to the growing anti-vaccine movement, which was bolstered by the confirmation of vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary.