America Lost Its 26-Year Measles Victory, and CDC Scientists Say Officials 'Intentionally Shelved' Reports

The United States has lost the measles elimination status it held for 26 years after the disease spread continuously for more than a year.

The announcement comes amid allegations by scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that political appointees held back reports on major outbreaks. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) says the claim is false.

How the US Lost Measles Elimination Status

Researchers who spoke to KFF Health News said the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) had determined that measles had re-established regular transmission in the US. Axios also reported the decision, citing multiple news reports.

PAHO concluded its review this week and planned a public announcement for 17 November, KFF Health News reported.

A Utah outbreak passed the one-year mark in June, prompting the assessment. Huge outbreaks have also hit South Carolina and Pennsylvania, which has recorded more than 1,500 cases and seven deaths, CBS News reported.

The US first achieved elimination in 2000. Axios called the loss 'an official recognition of how much the country's public health has deteriorated' amid a rolling series of outbreaks since early last year.

'It's a very sad moment,' said Anne Schuchat, a former CDC deputy director.

Allegations of Delayed CDC Reports

One anonymous CDC scientist told KFF Health News: 'Measles reports from West Texas and New Mexico were intentionally shelved.'

Several anonymous CDC officials alleged that political appointees have delayed or blocked articles in the agency's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

Detailed reports on the South Carolina, Utah and Pennsylvania outbreaks have not been published, and a CDC report on measles risks to pregnant women was withheld, according to The Washington Post. KFF Health News said it had not verified the claims.

HHS rejected them. 'The suggestion that HHS is deliberately suppressing information about measles or other vaccine-preventable diseases is false,' spokesperson Emily Hilliard said. She said report timing varies with data analysis and scientific review, and that HHS and the CDC had provided about £75 million ($100 million) in extra outbreak funding.

Cases, Hospitalisations and Deaths

More than 8,000 people have been sickened in outbreaks, with more than 830 hospitalised over the past two years, KFF Health News reported.

State health departments have reported 13 measles-associated deaths, four more than the CDC's national dashboard listed at the time. The wider West Texas-linked outbreak, which crossed the US-Mexico border, infected more than 4,500 people and caused at least 16 deaths across the two countries.

Of the 5,412 cases confirmed in 2026, 96 per cent involved people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown, and only 2 per cent were fully vaccinated, CBS News reported. Last year, the US recorded 2,242 cases and three deaths, CBS News reported.

'Bigger fires create more embers, and any one of those embers can seed another fire,' said former CDC official Paul Rota.

The White House defended its record. 'The President and the Secretary have repeatedly encouraged measles vaccination, coordinated with states, and facilitated the deployment of vaccine doses across the country,' spokesperson Allison Schuster said. HHS blamed vaccination gaps that predate the administration.

The US now joins Canada, which lost its status in November 2025. To regain it, current outbreaks must end and future ones must be stopped before they spread for a year, Rota told KFF Health News.