US measles cases have hit a 35-year high, with combined totals from this year and last exceeding the sum of the previous 25 years, driven largely by domestic outbreaks linked to falling vaccination rates. For the first time in 25 years, the country no longer meets the criterion for having eliminated measles, since Utah's outbreak has persisted since June 2025 rather than fizzling out within a year, and public health officials expect the elimination status to be formally lost when the Pan American Health Organization meets this autumn.

Nearly 400 people have been hospitalised with measles across the two years, three have died, and at least three suffered brain swelling with lasting effects. A CDC scientist, speaking anonymously for fear of retaliation, said the agency's internal report—covering January 2025 to June 2026—will confirm ongoing transmission before going to a national measles review committee. Utah paediatricians interviewed by WIRED described treating severely ill unvaccinated children, including cases requiring painful diagnostic procedures such as lumbar punctures, and spoke of a new era of vaccine hesitancy reshaping frontline care.