The United States may be about to lose a public health distinction it has held for 26 years. A panel of international experts is meeting in Washington this week to decide whether the country still counts as measles free.
The decision is not final yet. The panel meets from Nov. 10 through Nov. 13, and a public announcement is expected early next week, possibly by Nov. 17. But the numbers behind the review are already clear, and they are not good.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counted 5,182 confirmed measles cases in 2026 as of Nov. 5, across 45 states and Washington, D.C. That is more than double last year’s total of 2,289, and the most in any year since 1991.
What is being decided?
The United States achieved measles elimination in 2000. That does not mean measles vanished. It means the virus was no longer spreading continuously inside the country. Cases still arrived from abroad, but they did not take hold and keep spreading.
A country loses elimination status if transmission is re-established and continues uninterrupted for at least 12 months. Imported cases and short lived outbreaks do not count. The test is whether the virus is once again spreading on its own, month after month, inside the country.
The review is being done by the Measles and Rubella Elimination Regional Monitoring and Re-Verification Commission, an independent panel of eight experts in epidemiology, virology, pediatrics, public health and immunization. It reports to the Pan American Health Organization, known as PAHO, which is the regional arm of the World Health Organization.
PAHO said the review will include all member states, with particular focus on those with active outbreaks and those that have completed one year of sustained transmission. For the United States, the analysis period runs for one year from the onset of the reported outbreak on Jan. 20, 2025, which began in Texas.
The commission does not announce a ruling on its own. It sends its findings to the PAHO director, Jarbas Barbosa, who makes the final decision and communicates it to the authorities.
What the CDC is saying
CDC Director Dr. Erica Schwartz told Reuters in an interview on Nov. 10 that the agency would not fundamentally change its approach even if the country loses the status. Schwartz said the CDC would keep working with the states regardless of the decision, and that the agency’s emphasis remains the MMR vaccine.
One number in this story is disputed and should be flagged, not smoothed over. The CDC has recorded four measles deaths in 2026 as of Oct. 29. Local health departments report eight deaths this year, according to reporting on the review. The CDC’s count lags behind state reporting, and the gap has not been resolved in public reporting.
Twenty-six years is a long time to hold a line. It would be a shame to lose it in a week.
Sources
- PAHO: Update on the review of measles elimination status
- USA Today: A once almost-forgotten disease is spiking in the US. See latest numbers
- Political.org: CDC Director Dr. Erica Schwartz Says Agency Will Not Change Measles Response if US Loses Elimination Status
- Explainedly: US Measles Elimination Status Under Review: What It Means
