The US might lose its longstanding ‘measles elimination’ status

America may be on track to losing its longstanding measles “elimination status,” held by the United States since 2000.

The status indicates that there has not been continuous spread of the infectious disease for more than a year – but vaccine hesitancy and other factors have sent infections rocketing to their highest levels in 25 years.

There have been 1,648 cases and three deaths tied to the virus this year so far, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

And if recent cases, reported in South Carolina or Utah, are tied back to a deadly West Texas outbreak that started in January and health authorities can’t bring the areas under control before the new year, the country’s elimination status is at risk.

In South Carolina, the outbreak fuelled by exposures at Spartanburg County elementary schools has grown to 37 cases, including many unvaccinated students. Utah has seen 64 cases largely around the Southwest, 61 of whom were unvaccinated.

The measles-mumps-rubella vaccine is 97% effective against infection. That’s how the U.S. reached its elimination status initially.

However, child vaccination rates have fallen across the U.S. since before the pandemic, with fewer than 92.5 percent of kindergarteners getting a measles shot for this 2024-2025 school year. Doctors say falling rates are tied to increasing vaccine hesitancy and the spread of misinformation about vaccine safety.

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Source: The Independent, 4 November 2025