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According to the CDC, there have been 38 reported measles outbreaks this year, in 2026. As of Sept. 10, 2026, there have been 3,294 measles cases in the United States, a jump from 2,289 cases in 2025. 95% of cases are due to the recent outbreak. 18% of sufferers are under 5 years old and a whopping 45% are between the ages of 5 and 19.
Measles cases spiked during the week of Aug. 23 across the country, but cases are starting to subside overall. In Pennsylvania, however, measles infections are on the rise, with upwards of 693 people reported to have the disease according to Fox 24. 133 people have been hospitalized as of Sept. 16, according to the State Department of Health, and in the last few weeks, there have been 41 cases, 17 cases in the past week. Four people have died — the highest number of measles deaths in Pennsylvania since 1992 — and none of the people who have died have been vaccinated. Pennsylvania has the highest number of measles cases in the country, with the center of the outbreak being in Lancaster County with almost 300 cases.
People who work in hospitals and healthcare, such as Dr. John Goldman, who dealt with two cases of measles in the 1980s and 90s, believed the reported measles cases are almost certainly an undercount. He supports seven hospitals and has had 50 measles cases this year. He told ABC News, “So, we’ve gone from seeing this as an extremely rare disease, one that I literally have not seen in 30 years, to something that is now common, where we’re seeing it literally every day.”
According to Southern Illinois Now, 10 children in Pennsylvania were admitted to the hospital from measles complications this year.
In Chester County, there are 65 confirmed cases, according to Jeanne Franklin. Chester County has the third highest number of cases across the 38 out of 67 counties afflicted by the disease.
Other than Pennsylvania, states where measles cases have been reported are as listed: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, New York State, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Including Pennsylvania, that is 47 states.
How did we go from a disease considered eliminated in 2000 to the cases happening now? Since 2019, global measles cases have risen by 8%. Experts blame the surges on failing vaccination coverage.
Many, such as Governor Josh Shapiro, place the blame on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Junior for sending mixed messages about the measles vaccine.
“This serious situation continues to be made worse by RFK Jr. playing games with public health and safety,” he says in an X post. “It’s long past time for @SecKennedy to stop stoking vaccine skepticism and misinformation and compromising the serious mission of the nation’s public health agencies. It is also deeply concerning to learn that the Secretary personally intervened in an otherwise administrative process to direct the CDC to not report these Pennsylvania deaths, presumably because it doesn’t fit his phony narrative.”
While RFK promoted the measles vaccine (the MMR Vaccine) on an X post, he also said that people should undergo forced vaccinations in an interview with Fox News, and promoted medication cited as a hoax to be a cure for the measles, citing budesonide and clarithromycin. He’s also cited Vitamin A and Cod liver oil.
The best way to prevent getting the measles is by receiving an MMR vaccine. Vaccines can also wear off — though rarely — and blood tests can show whether you still have immunity to the measles. If you think you’ve been exposed to measles, it is best to go to the doctor right away.
Emily Rutz is an English Major and Minors in Professional and Technical Writing and Creative Writing. ER1034711@wcupa.edu.