\n The United States has reported more than 2,000 measles cases this year, federal data shows, a higher annual total than the country has seen in decades.\n <\/p>\n
\n Ongoing outbreaks \u2014 particularly in the upstate region of South Carolina<\/a> and along the border between Arizona and Utah \u2014 continue to add dozens of cases each week, threatening the measles elimination status that the US has held for a quarter-century.\n <\/p>\n \n As of December 30, there have been 2,065 confirmed measles cases in the US in 2026, according to data<\/a> published Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The last time there were more than 2,000 cases reported in one year was in 1992, just a couple years after health leaders updated recommendations to say that children should get two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine instead of just one.\n <\/p>\n \n Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known, but the MMR vaccine offers highly effective protection. One dose is 93% effective against measles infection, and two doses are 97% effective, according to the CDC<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n However, vaccination rates have been falling for years. Last school year, just 92.5% of incoming kindergarteners had received the MMR vaccine, CDC data<\/a> shows \u2014 below the 95% threshold that public health experts say is necessary to prevent outbreaks.\n <\/p>\n \n Measles has been considered eliminated in the US since 2000, meaning no outbreaks or other chains of transmission have lasted longer than a year. But multiple large outbreaks this year may be connected, which puts the elimination status on the line if cases continue to grow through late January.\n <\/p>\n