The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week revealed that the measles rates so far this year have already exceeded figures from 2025, marking a 35-year high. 

The United States logged 2,318 measles cases in the first seven months of this year, up from the total of 2,289 last year, according to the CDC. The announcement makes 2026 the U.S.’s worst year for measles since 1991, with officials crediting the outbreak in part to decreased vaccination rates and saying the numbers could be much higher than official estimates reveal.