CDC Reports Six Measles Deaths in 2026, Twice Last Year’s Total
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says six people have died of measles in the US this year, double the 2025 toll. Cases have passed 5,000 for the first time since 1991, and a regional health body is weighing whether the country keeps its elimination status.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported six measles-related deaths in the United States this year, according to figures on its website on Thursday, November 12, as the country faces its worst resurgence of the disease in decades. The CDC reports six measles deaths, twice the number recorded in 2025.
Measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000. Cases have now climbed above 5,000 for the first time since 1991.
The CDC did not say which states accounted for the six deaths in its official count.
The Johns Hopkins University International Vaccine Access Center tracker lists more than 5,400 cases nationwide. Active outbreaks have been reported in nearly every state.
A change in how deaths are counted
The CDC recently changed how it tracks measles deaths. Under US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., it now uses mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics, according to a note posted on the agency's website on September 4.
The switch left a gap between federal and state figures. Pennsylvania, the hardest-hit state, has confirmed six measles-associated deaths this year.
A child also died in New York on election day. The state recorded its first known measles-related death in more than 30 years. Days later, Wisconsin's health department confirmed the death of an infant.
Kennedy previously argued without evidence that two of the Pennsylvania deaths may not have been caused by measles. He asked CDC Director Dr. Erica Schwartz not to count them, according to earlier reporting. The CDC changed its data source the day after that reporting appeared.
The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Elimination status under review
Experts convened by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) are expected to decide within days whether the US keeps its measles-free status. Many disease experts say it is likely to be lost. That would put the US alongside Canada and several countries in Europe and Asia that eliminated measles before it returned.
Schwartz said she expects a PAHO decision by early next week. She said the CDC would not fundamentally change its response if the status is lost.
“Let’s say we did lose our measles elimination status. We’re going to be doing the same exact thing that we’ve been doing today, which is working with the states,” Schwartz said.
Nearly 5,200 cases have been confirmed in 2026, compared with 2,289 for all of 2025, according to figures cited this week. State health departments have reported 11 deaths since early last year.
Schwartz pointed to “closely knit communities” as the main source of infection, including the Amish in Pennsylvania. Several outbreaks began among religious groups where vaccination rates are lower than in the general population.
The measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is about 97% effective after two doses. In August, President Donald Trump and Kennedy unveiled an executive order calling for the MMR vaccine to be split into three separate shots. Pharmaceutical companies said that could take years.
