America just logged another unwelcome milestone when it comes to measles: more than 2,000 infections for the second straight year, according to new CDC data. The agency reports 2,030 confirmed cases so far in 2026 across 39 states and DC, most of them in children and teens under the age of 20. That keeps the country on pace with 2025, when 2,288 cases were recorded—the first time since 1992 that US totals cracked the 2,000 mark, per ABC News.
Roughly 92% of this year's infections are in people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status isn't known. About 4% of cases are in those with just one dose of the MMR (measles/mumps/rubella) shot, while another 4% are in people who received the recommended two doses. Only 10 infections have been linked to international travelers so far this year, suggesting most spread is happening within US communities.
In Virginia, where a measles outbreak is currently underway in the central part of the state, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is urging locals to get vaccinated, despite his past skepticism on vaccines, per WVTF. "At [the] CDC, we encourage people to get their measles vaccination. That's the best way to prevent yourself from getting measles," he said at a Wednesday presser. Meanwhile, Medical Xpress reports on a recent study showing a nearly 40% uptick in vitamin A poisonings between January and March of last year in the US, after misinformation circulated pushing the vitamin as a viable alternative preventive measure.
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