US Reportedly Loses Measles Elimination Status After 26 Years as Cases Surge

On Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the United States has lost its measles elimination status, a designation the country had held for 26 years. The report cited people familiar with the matter. It has not been officially confirmed. The Pan American Health Organization, known as PAHO, had planned to announce its determination publicly on Tuesday, Nov. 17.

KFF Health News separately reported the decision, citing researchers with direct knowledge of the deliberations. PAHO's independent regional verification commission met in Washington, D.C., from Nov. 10 to 13 to review countries' elimination status. Fox News Digital contacted PAHO and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for comment.

The U.S. earned elimination status in 2000. Under PAHO's standard, losing it means measles is again spreading continuously within the country, with the same chain of transmission persisting for at least 12 months. Isolated cases and shorter outbreaks can occur without costing a country the designation. What matters is a sustained chain.

The case counts show the scale. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 5,412 confirmed measles cases in 2026 through Nov. 12. That is more than double the 2,289 cases recorded in all of 2025. Among the cases is a Wisconsin infant who died, in the state's first measles death since 1990.

Dr. Stephanie Widmer, a New York City emergency physician and Fox News medical contributor, called the loss a public health setback. She said measles is not just a childhood rash and can cause pneumonia, brain inflammation, permanent neurological damage and death. She also stressed that the loss does not mean the vaccine has failed. In her words, it means protection in some communities is no longer high enough to prevent sustained transmission. She said infants too young to be vaccinated and people with compromised immune systems are paying the price for gaps in community immunity.

The American Academy of Family Physicians made a similar point in a statement. The group said the loss signals that the virus is spreading continuously and too many people remain unprotected. It said this does not mean the MMR vaccine has stopped working, but that confidence in the safety and efficacy of public health tools must be restored. To regain status, it called for an organized, sustained response: more support for state and local health departments, timelier surveillance and communications, clear information for families, and an easier path to vaccination.

Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, said the change reflects that not all spread is due to travel from overseas. He proposed sending vaccine trucks and clinics to areas where vaccine noncompliance is most common.

The CDC says measles is highly contagious. Up to nine in 10 people without immunity who are close to an infected person will become infected, and the virus can linger in the air for up to two hours after that person has left. Two doses of the MMR vaccine are about 97% effective at preventing the disease. The CDC recommends the first dose at 12 to 15 months and the second at 4 to 6 years. Most adults without evidence of immunity need one dose, certain higher-risk adults need two, and people with two appropriately spaced doses generally do not need a booster.

The next marker is Tuesday's planned PAHO announcement, which should confirm or correct the reports and may clarify what steps the U.S. would need to take to restore its status.