Vaccine Chaos and the Resurgence of Measles

(A version of this column was published in the September 2026 issue of Public Citizen’s Health Letter.)

As of Aug. 30, 2026, 2,903 confirmed measles cases had been reported in the United States this year; 2,289 confirmed cases were reported in 2025.[1] The 2026 cases represent a 35-year high,[2] were reported by 46 states and the District of Columbia, included 223 hospitalizations, and most were associated with a measles outbreak. The continuing epidemic started in Texas in early 2025 with two imported cases and subsequently spread.[3]

Of the 2026 measles cases, 94% were in individuals who were unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination status, 3% had one dose of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine and 3% had two doses, which is the recommendation for children.[4] Two 2026 deaths are under investigation; three deaths were reported in 2025.

During the 2024-2025 school year, MMR vaccination coverage was 92.5% for kindergartners.[5] Vaccine coverage has been decreasing and is well below the 95% threshold for coverage with two MMR doses that prevents outbreaks and protects communities against an exceptionally contagious disease that can cause serious illness and death.[6]

The United States is likely to lose its measles elimination status, which it has held since 2000, in November 2026. Measles elimination status entails an uninterrupted and prolonged absence of endemic transmission — that is, no continuous transmission chain for measles for at least one year.[7]

Against the backdrop of an ongoing public health crisis, it is mystifying that the Trump administration in August 2026 issued a tone-deaf executive order calling into question the childhood vaccine schedule.[8] Among other troubling provisions, the executive order called for the MMR vaccine to be split into three separate, single-disease shots that should be administered at separate medical visits.

The MMR vaccine is one of the crowning achievements of modern medicine. A split version of the vaccine doesn’t exist in the United States, is not supported by evidence-based science, and manufacturers have no interest in making one.[9] Splitting the vaccine would further decrease coverage at a time when uptake is already too low, subject children to more needlesticks, increase health care costs and leave more children vulnerable to infectious diseases that vaccines can prevent.[10],[11]

The first individual measles vaccine was released in the United States in 1963. Following the licensing of the mumps vaccine in 1967 and the rubella vaccine in 1969, the Food and Drug Administration approved the combined MMR vaccine in 1971. Of 194 World Health Organization member states, 179 use the combined MMR vaccine.[12] There is no connection between the MMR vaccine or any other childhood vaccine and autism.

Creating vaccine chaos and confusion is exactly the wrong response to the resurgence of measles. Once again, states, medical professional societies and health insurers, now joined by vaccine manufacturers, must push back and protect public health.
 

References

[1] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Measles cases and outbreaks. August 30, 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html. Accessed August 31, 2026.

[2] Soucheray, S. Measles cases reach 35-year high in US. Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, University of Minnesota. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/measles/measles-cases-reach-35-year-high-us. Accessed August 13, 2026.

[3] Bischops AC, Hulland EN, Patzakis M, Majumder MS. Will the USA lose its measles elimination status? Lancet. 2026;407:1679-1681. https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0140-6736%2826%2900466-6. Accessed August 13, 2026.

[4] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Measles cases and outbreaks. August 30, 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html. Accessed August 31, 2026.

[5] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. New findings on vaccination coverage and exemptions among kindergartners (2024-2025 school year). https://www.cdc.gov/schoolvaxview/data/index.html. Accessed August 13, 2026.

[6] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About global measles. https://www.cdc.gov/global-measles-vaccination/about/index.html. Accessed August 13, 2026.

[7] Bischops AC, Hulland EN, Patzakis M, Majumder MS. Will the USA lose its measles elimination status? Lancet. 2026;407:1679-1681. https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0140-6736%2826%2900466-6. Accessed August 13, 2026.

[8] Presidential Actions. Delivering Gold Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations for Americans. August 10, 2026. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/08/delivering-gold-standard-childhood-vaccine-recommendations-for-americans/. Accessed August 13, 2026.

[9] Payne D. Trump is counting on the health care industry to remake vaccines. It’s pushing back instead. Statnews. August 11, 2026. https://www.statnews.com/2026/08/11/health-care-pharma-industry-pushes-back-trump-vaccine-policy-changes/. Accessed August 13, 2026.

[10] Public Citizen. More Trump administration vaccine nonsense. August 10, 2026. https://www.citizen.org/news/more-trump-administration-childhood-vaccine-nonsense/. Accessed August 13, 2026.

[11] Branswell H. WHO says Trump’s latest vaccine policy order is misguided. Statnews. August 12, 2026. https://www.statnews.com/2026/08/12/trump-vaccine-executive-order-critiqued-by-tedros-who/. Accessed August 12, 2026.

[12] Ibid.