A Step Back for U.S. Public Health: The U.S. Is Likely to Lose Its Measles Elimination Status Josh Michaud Josh Michaud Published: November 13, 2026

https://www.kff.org/quick-insights/a-step-back-for-u-s-public-health-the-u-s-is-likely-to-lose-its-measles-elimination-status/ The loss of measles elimination status would primarily carry symbolic weight, as the effect of rising cases and deaths is already clear. Still, it is a marker of how a combination of factors - COVID-19, increasing vaccine skepticism, and a growing partisan divide about vaccines - has been a step back for public health, and it is not clear when or if this trend will be reversed.