of the failure dept
Of course, this administration is in the middle of failing the American people in so many ways, but if you need one clear example of that failure, it’s in measles. When I wrote this post in March of this year, it was our first Techdirt post about the disease in over 11 years. In other words, this is how it started:
And from there we went on our way. It took about a month before we and many others started warning of what would be inevitable if RFK Jr. would not be removed from his role as Secretary of Health and Human Services. A virulent anti-vaxxer presiding over a measles outbreak would always result in a lackluster response at best, but the real shame would come in the form of America losing its measles elimination status. That status was achieved with difficulty in 2000 through a concentrated and government-led vaccination campaign that began in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Twelve months of continued spread from linked outbreaks is losing us elimination status, and we started predicting this would happen eight months ago.
So that’s how it started. Where do we stand at the moment? We’re in now 2,012 confirmed cases of measles in America for 2025. And those numbers are both incomplete for the year and almost certainly significantly underreported. Add to that the fact that we’re dealing with current outbreaks in multiple states and we’re set for a 2026 with a bang.
The number of measles cases nationwide has reached 2,012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported. last weekas outbreaks continue to grow in Arizona and South Carolina and three other states are warning the public about airport exposure.
The U.S. total reflects 54 new cases as the country stands on the brink of losing measles elimination status — which it earned in 2000 — next month. This year’s total is the nation’s highest since 1992, when officials did so reported 2,200 cases. Coordinated vaccination efforts led to a steep decline in cases in subsequent decades, but vaccine skepticism in recent years has led to the disease’s resurgence.
Those numbers include 3 deaths, including two children, and 227 hospitalizations. More frightening is that while 93% of infections have occurred among unvaccinated people, 7% have not, including 4% who have had two MMR vaccine doses. That certainly sounds like we are experiencing an increase in breakthrough infections, which in itself is an indication that we are losing the protection of herd immunity.
So it’s not really a matter of as we are going to lose the elimination status of measles. The game is already over, we’re just waiting for the clock to run out. The real question is whether this shame will prompt anyone in positions of power to do something about it. And the only real thing we can do here is RFK Jr. from his role as Cabinet Secretary.
Filed Under: epidemic, health and human services, measles, rfk jr.
#Measles #cases #America #surpass