US measles cases near 4,000 as CDC releases $100 million to states

A national count near 4,000

The United States had recorded 3,887 confirmed measles cases in 2026 as of 1 October, according to the CDC as cited by El País, compared with 2,289 cases in all of 2025. AP describes it as the country's worst year for measles since 1991, with cases arriving in waves, one earlier this year and another as summer turned to fall. The CDC counts 42 new outbreaks this year, and 95% of infections are linked to active transmission foci. Cases have been reported in 47 jurisdictions, including the District of Columbia and New York City. Measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, but pockets of unvaccinated residents now allow outbreaks, defined as three or more related cases, to spread. Children and teenagers account for most confirmed cases, and most people who contracted the disease were unvaccinated or of unknown vaccination status.

Pennsylvania at the center

Pennsylvania has the most cases, though the figures differ by source. The Washington Post, as reported by AGI and Adnkronos, counts more than 970 confirmed cases in 39 counties since April, nearly 200 hospitalizations and five deaths, including three unvaccinated adults and two infants. El País, citing the state health department on Monday, gives 1,004 cases, 198 hospitalizations and five deaths, while Blick reports more than 1,000 cases. NYT puts Pennsylvania at about one-quarter of the nearly 4,000 national cases and says two of the deaths were thought to have resulted from infections at birth. Penn State Health Golisano Children's Hospital, which borders Lancaster County, treated between 15 and 20 measles patients this year, most of them in the last month. Patrick Gavigan, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the hospital, told AGI that all patients hospitalized for measles there were unvaccinated. Possible exposures have been reported at highway service areas, supermarkets, a courthouse and a summer soccer camp.

Funding and emergency powers

The CDC released $100 million to states in two $50 million tranches, in August and September, which NYT describes as a surprise infusion. Dr. Scott Harris, state health officer at the Alabama Department of Public Health, said Alabama received $300,000 for immunization programs and $600,000 for surveillance and diagnoses. He said:

Our state has not yet seen a large outbreak as in some other states, like Pennsylvania or South Carolina, but we fully expect to see more cases here.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a statewide health emergency on Monday. Blick reports 108 measles infections in New York State by early October, seven in New York City and 101 elsewhere in the state. The declaration lets authorities respond faster to new outbreaks and widens vaccination and testing powers, including for pharmacists and emergency responders. Hochul said:

Nobody should suffer a serious illness or die from a disease that can be prevented by vaccination.

Claire Hannan, executive director of the Association of Immunization Managers, said the CDC funding comes at a time when public health funding and staffing has been cut. She added:

It's very difficult to hold special vaccination clinics, alert the public, stop transmission and conduct other response activities without preparation.

Vaccination gaps

El País reports that the share of kindergartners vaccinated with MMR fell from 95.2% in the 2019-2020 school year to 92.5% in 2024-2025, leaving about 286,000 children without the community protection needed to stop spread. Measles spread requires at least 95% of a community to be vaccinated, according to NYT. Pennsylvania's health department reported more than 49,000 MMR doses given in August, nearly double a typical month, and more than 38,000 in the first three weeks of September. NYT notes that the CDC has not launched the publicity campaigns it would typically run during outbreaks. El País describes Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who leads the Department of Health, as known for anti-vaccine activism. Blick reports that Canada, which had long been considered measles-free, is now recording infections.