Measles cases are on the rise in the United States. Ongoing outbreaks, especially in the upstate region of South Carolina and along the border between Arizona and Utah, have been threatening the United States’ measles eradication status since 2000.
Last year, the U.S. reported more than 2,000 cases, according to data pulled by Johns Hopkins. As of December 2025, there have been 2,065 measles cases in the United States. The last time more than 2,000 cases were reported in one year was 1992. That was shortly after public health leaders updated recommendations to say that children should receive two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine instead of one.
According to the CDC, measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to man, but the vaccine has been effective. One dose is 93% effective against the measles, while two doses are 97% effective. CDC data also shows that vaccination rates have been falling for years. For the 2024-25 school season, 92.5% of incoming kindergarteners had received the MMR vaccine. That’s below the 95% threshold that public health professionals say is necessary to prevent outbreaks.
“The trajectory that we’re looking at now is that we do anticipate more cases well into January,” Dr. Linda Bell, South Carolina’s state epidemiologist, told CNN. “What that means for us nationally in terms of how they are defining our designation in this country as having eliminated measles is unclear.”
An outbreak in West Texas that began early last year was declared over last August. There were hundreds of related cases spanning Texas and New Mexico, and three unvaccinated people, two children, and one adult died. We reached out to Dr. Nekaiya Jacobs Pratt, a board-certified pediatric critical care physician, educator, and health equity advocate based in Chicago, to get more information about who should get vaccinated for measles. While the current outbreaks are happening in specific states, doctors tend to follow universal guidelines from the CDC.
“As a physician, I recommend measles vaccination for both children and adults who are not immune. Measles is highly contagious and can cause serious illness at any age,” Jacobs Pratt told EBONY. “For children, protection comes from receiving the two-dose MMR series on schedule. For adults, being ‘not immune’ means they may have never been vaccinated, received only one dose, or lack documentation of immunity. Adults born after 1957 who cannot confirm two doses or lab evidence of immunity may be susceptible.”
Jacobs Pratt added that guidance from the CDC emphasizes that vaccination protects individuals across the lifespan and helps prevent outbreaks that place infants, immunocompromised patients, and entire communities at risk. Despite changes in vaccine guidance and widespread misinformation, medical professionals, emphasis on “professionals,” rely on evidence-based national guidelines to inform their recommendations.
“These guidelines are developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, drawing on decades of research, continuous safety monitoring, and real-world data,” Jacobs Pratt said. “Importantly, these guidelines are publicly available and accessible to everyone on their respective websites. Patients should feel empowered to review them as well, using these sources to determine where to seek reliable information and guidance that is grounded in science and evidence.”
From our perspective as clinicians, evolving recommendations reflect advances in science and disease surveillance, not social media trends or misinformation. The measles vaccine has a long-standing record of safety and effectiveness, and open conversations between patients and their healthcare providers remain the most trusted way to apply this evidence to individual care.