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CDC count hits 5,412 measles cases as PAHO reviews U.S. elimination status
Stateline, citing CDC figures through Nov. 12, said the United States had 5,412 confirmed measles cases in 2026, more than double 2025, as a PAHO panel reviewed whether elimination status still holds.
- Stateline is now reporting this
- New headline Was: “PAHO panel reviews measles elimination status for U.S. and Mexico”
- Our desk updated its story
The United States had 5,412 confirmed measles cases in 2026 as of Nov. 12, more than double the 2,289 cases recorded through all of 2025, Stateline reported Friday, citing the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data1.
Stateline said a Pan American Health Organization expert panel was reviewing cases Friday and that continuous spread for 12 months or more would reverse the measles elimination status the United States has held since 20001.
The CDC figures as relayed by Stateline put cases in 47 states plus the District of Columbia and New York City, with 3,134 cases, or 58%, among people under 191. The same account said 96% of people with cases were unvaccinated, 591 cases led to hospitalization, and the CDC had confirmed six measles-related deaths, with other state investigations continuing1.
Pennsylvania had 1,542 confirmed cases this year, including 37 since Nov. 9, Stateline said, citing the state health department, and it said Pennsylvania had reported two measles-associated deaths since Election Day, with additional deaths reported by health agencies in New York and Wisconsin in the same period1.
Stateline said 39 states now have measles-mumps-rubella vaccination rates below 95%, the level it described as needed for herd immunity, and that many Republican-led states have ended vaccine mandates1. It described Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a vaccine skeptic whose agency has questioned vaccine safety and efficacy and recommended fewer childhood vaccines1.
Dr. Ali Khan of the University of Nebraska Medical Center told Stateline that losing elimination status would not change conditions on the ground1. Epidemiologist Katrine Wallace of the University of Illinois Chicago, quoted by Stateline, tied the rebound to anti-vaccine messaging and what she described as a lack of a federal vaccination push1.
This desk did not independently retrieve the CDC tables or a PAHO decision. The same Stateline story was republished Friday by several States Newsroom sites, including Arkansas Advocate; this filing uses the Stateline original1. Not medical advice.
Sources
How it’s being reported
2 sourcesUS poised to lose its 'measles elimination status' after more than 25 years
CDC 2026 case totals, risk of losing elimination status, vaccination rates and HHS under Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
States Newsroom/Stateline report by Shalina Chatlani citing CDC measles counts through Nov. 12, PAHO's Friday review, and interviews with public-health officials. Republished across…
Why the US, Mexico and Guatemala may lose their measles-free status
U.S., Mexico and Guatemala as countries that may lose measles-free status; RVC schedule and PAHO regional case total.
Reports PAHO's Regional Verification Commission meeting in Washington this week on measles elimination status for several countries in the Americas.
Leaves out CDC director statement carried by AP.