Despite having a very effective and easily available vaccine, measles outbreaks have continued to pop up in the United States over the last two decades.
Most recently, there have been eight cases confirmed in Philadelphia since December 2023, all among unvaccinated individuals. Additionally, a person with measles traveled through D.C.-area airports and cases have been identified in Delaware, New Jersey and Washington state, according to local reports.
In 2023, there were 41 confirmed cases of measles, according to incomplete data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
While the number of measles cases in the past few years are not at record highs and the 2023 numbers are lower than recent years, the fact that outbreaks are still occurring is a trend that concerns health officials and experts.
Measles was declared eliminated in 2000 — meaning the disease “is no longer constantly present in this country.” However, the dip in routine childhood vaccinations in recent years as well as travelers bringing measles into the country has resulted in outbreaks.
“The fact that we’re seeing sporadic measles cases, to me, says that we probably have pockets in the United States where we’re not doing a good job vaccinating and I’m worried that this is a trend that’s been getting worse over the years,” Dr. Peter Hotez, professor of pediatrics and molecular virology at Baylor College of Medicine, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine and co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, told ABC News.
About 93% of kindergarteners received select routine childhood vaccines, including the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine, which protects against measles, for the 2022-23 school year, according to the CDC report.
This is about the same as the previous school year but lower than the 94% seen in 2020-21 school year and the 95% seen in the 2019-20, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The latter percentage had been the standard for about 10 years.
