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US Measles Cases Reach a 35-Year High as RFK Jr. Urges Parents to Vaccinate

The United States has already recorded more measles infections in the first eight months of 2026 than in any full year over the past 35 years, with most patients unvaccinated as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urges parents to immunize their children

US measles cases reach a 35-year high, with nearly five months still left in 2026, marking the country’s worst outbreak in more than three decades and eclipsing the previous record set just last year.

According to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through July 30, the United States has reported more than 2,370 confirmed measles cases across 45 jurisdictions, including 37 new outbreaks. The agency said 93% of those infected were unvaccinated.

The total has already surpassed the 2,289 confirmed cases recorded during all of 2025, highlighting a major setback in the fight against a disease that the United States declared eliminated in 2000. That status is now under renewed pressure.

The resurgence comes as pockets of low vaccination coverage have expanded in recent years, a trend that public health experts have largely attributed to misinformation.

Against that backdrop, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has repeatedly faced criticism over his past comments on vaccines, used a CNN interview to encourage parents to have their children immunized.

Kennedy said his agency’s websites recommend measles vaccination for children and maintained that he has “never questioned” the vaccine’s effectiveness.

Over the past two years, the United States has recorded more measles cases than during the entire remainder of the 21st century combined. Before 2026, the last year to post a higher annual total was 1991.

As reported by The Guardian, CNN anchor Dana Bash asked Kennedy to address parents directly ahead of the new school year. He replied that parents should vaccinate their children against measles, describing the vaccine as effective and saying it prevents the disease in about 97% of cases.

When asked whether he accepted any responsibility for the sharp rise in infections, Kennedy answered, “Absolutely not,” adding that the communities most affected by measles are “almost all religious communities that simply do not vaccinate.”

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