US measles status to go up for review

The Big Story The U. S. and Mexico will meet with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) for a three-day closed door meeting next week to evaluate their respective measles elimination statuses in light of ongoing outbreaks. © Jessie Wardarski, Associated Press In January, the U. S. met one of the key conditions for a country to lose its measles elimination status: one year of consistent disease transmission. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the government has confirmed over 5,000 measles cases this year and nearly 7,500 since the start of 2025. Eight measles-related deaths have been reported across three states in 2026, though the CDC is only recognizing four as of November. Despite meeting PAHO’s condition, Trump health officials argued in January that 12 continuous months of transmission alone should not result in an automatic loss of measles eliminations status, saying the international organization should also consider whether an epidemic linkage through a common source exists between cases. But former Louisiana Surgeon General Ralph Abraham, who briefly served as the CDC’s principal deputy director before resigning in February, opined at the time losing measles elimination status in the U. S. was “not really” a significant loss. Canada lost its measles elimination status late last year. The U. S. and Mexico were scheduled to attend a meeting with PAHO to review their measles elimination statuses in April, but it was pushed back to November — citing the need to complete “ongoing analysis.” In the time measles outbreaks began spreading across the country, the CDC went without a permanent director for roughly a year. Even after Erica Schwartz was sworn in as the agency’s director in August, communication regarding the measles outbreaks has been scant. And members of the Trump administration have continued to cast doubt on the safety and efficacy of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, with President Trump calling the combined shot “quite lethal” from the Oval Office in August. At a September conference hosted by anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense, Kennedy compared a child dying from measles to one sustaining injuries from vaccines, saying that — while children who die of the virus “get headlines” — kids are also “damaged” by shots. Welcome to The Hill’s Healthcare newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel  and Joseph Choi — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. 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