NBC News
The number of measles cases in the United States has reached its maximum point since the country eradicated the disease in 2000. Since the beginning of the year 1,277 cases have been recorded, according to a data count of state health departments, made by NBC News, the Telemundo news sister chain.
In early 2025, the United States also registered its first measles deaths in a decade: two minors in Texas and an adult in New Mexico. None of them were vaccinated against highly infectious disease.
During the last 25 years, measles has been considered eradicated in the United States, because it has not been spreading continuously.
However, there are still periodic outbreaks, such as the one that occurred in a Mennonite community in western Texas earlier this year. Vaccination rates in Gaines County, The epicenter of the outbreakthey are particularly low: in the 2023-24 school year, 82% of the children’s garden students had received two doses of the measles vaccine, the papers and the rubella (SPR), well below the 95% rate needed to stop the propagation.
Dr. David Sugerman, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said in a recent meeting that measles would have to continue spreading until January 20 next year for the United States to lose the status of having eradicated the disease in the country.
So far this year, most cases are related to the outbreak in the southwest of the country – only in Texas more than 700 have been recorded – although other smaller shoots associated with international trips throughout the country have been detected.
The resurgence of measles can be attributed, in part, to the decrease in vaccination rates both worldwide and national. During the 2023-24 school year, less than 93% of garden children in the United States received the two recommended doses of the MMR vaccine. This rate is below 95% seen in the 2019-20 period.
The outbreak in western Texas is similar to the one that occurred in 2019 between Orthodox Jewish communities in New York where there are low vaccination rates. The United States registered 1,274 cases that year. An aggressive vaccination campaign helped contain propagation at that time.
New York’s response was “an incredible feat and something that we are obviously trying to emulate,” said Sugerman. However, the specialist said that the loss of subsidies money from COVID-19 has created “financing limitations” in Texas.
The CDCs cut last month that received 11.4 billion dollars in funds for COVID-19, part of which have helped state health departments to respond to the shoots of the disease. Containing each measles case can cost between $ 30,000 and $ 50,000, Sugerman insisted.
Many disease experts have also expressed concern about the fact that the federal government’s message around vaccines can make containment of the outbreak.
Although the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has called for people to vaccute measles, has also said that vaccinating is a personal choice, has emphasized treatments not endorsed by science and has falsely affirmed that the immunity of measles vaccines decreases rapidly.
Dr. Ana Montañez, a pediatrician who serves patients in Lubbock and Gaines County, said in a press conference in April that misinformation was the “greatest enemy” of health professionals.
The doctor said she has heard from cases where the person takes vitamin A instead of vaccinating. Kennedy has said that this supplement helps measles patients, but it is not clear to what extent it is beneficial. According to CDCs, vitamin A can be administered under the supervision of a professional, but it is not a treatment for the disease.
“Counteract the misinformation that has been disseminated on the use of vitamin A for measles treatment has been a struggle uphill,” said Montañez.
On the other hand, the two dose regime of the vaccine is 97% effective against measles and offers life protection. The virus is especially dangerous for babies and young children, whose immune system is not always developed enough to combat an infection.
In Texas, authorities recommend an early dose for babies from 6 to 11 months. Not vaccinated children over 12 months should receive a dose, according to the State, and a second 28 days later.
Measles usually start with high fever, cough, nasal secretion and crying eyes. From there, white spots may appear inside the cheeks, near the teeth, and an eruption of other flat and red. Severe cases can evolve to pneumonia or inflammation of the brain.
Approximately between 1 and 3 of every 1,000 children with measles die from respiratory and neurological complications, according to CDC.
