Axios Scientists are warning that the ongoing measles outbreak might force the United States to lose its elimination status for the first time in decades.
The big picture: For 25 years, the U.S. has been free of yearly measles outbreaks. But this year’s spike in cases and sustained outbreaks could change that.
- Measles reached a new yearly case high in summer 2025, surging in part because of declining immunization rates and outbreaks across the country.
- The spike in cases comes as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. downplayed the threat from measles and repeated misleading claims about measles vaccines before the government response.
Driving the news: The U.S. is on track to lose its “elimination status” by the end of January 2026 due to sustained outbreaks.
- There have been more than 1,800 cases of measles nationwide in 2025, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- The CDC says 87% of those cases came from more than 45 different outbreaks.
Outbreaks in Utah and Arizona remain the biggest in the country, per the CDC.
There have been three deaths tied to measles this year, CDC says.
Texas is also seeing a sustained outbreak, with 803 cases this year.