In the year 2000, health officials officially declared measles eliminated in the United States. That year, only 85 people in the entire country reported infections due to widespread vaccination.
In the year 2025, there were 2,065 confirmed measles cases – “confirmed” being the key word. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not record jurisdictions which have fail to notify them.
What began in Gaines County, Texas, where nearly 1 in 5 incoming kindergartners in the 2023-24 school year did not get the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, spread to states across the nation.
The status of measles being classified as ‘eliminated’ in the U.S. is in jeopardy
Recent outbreaks in South Carolina, Arizona, and Utah, could jeopardize the status of measles being officially declared eliminated in the U.S. The South Carolina Department of Public Health reported nine new cases the state over the past week. That brings the total number of cases in South Carolina related to an outbreak upstate to 185.
The last time the United States had more than 2,000 cases of measles was way back in 1992. The U.S. recorded just 285 cases in 2024. In 2025, Texas alone reported 803 cases.
In 2025, the CDC recorded 49 outbreaks of measles, with 88% of the confirmed cases associated with those outbreaks. The definition of outbreaks includes three or more related cases in a single jurisdiction.
Multiple states blame parents for not vaccinating school-age children, which contributes to the spread of measles
In South Carolina, the Department of Public Health blames many of the infections on several elementary schools with largely unvaccinated students. Meanwhile, just two doses of the MMR vaccine being 97% effective against measles, according to the CDC.
“Some cases are travel-related exposures or close contacts of known cases,” a news release stated. “Other cases have no identified source, suggesting that measles is circulating in the community and could spread further. We have seen measles spread quickly in unvaccinated households here in South Carolina.”
