A year after Texas became the center of the nation’s worst measles surge in decades, the virus is now spreading across a wider map of the United States, with outbreaks and clusters reported in South Carolina, Utah, California and other states as public health officials warn that low vaccination rates are allowing the disease to regain a foothold.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 1,281 confirmed measles cases in 2026, with cases in 31 jurisdictions. The CDC said 89% of those cases are linked to outbreaks, many of them tied to transmission chains that began in 2025.
Texas was a major warning sign. State health officials said the 2025 outbreak was centered largely in West Texas and was declared over in August 2025. A Texas DSHS report later counted 762 confirmed cases and two fatalities tied to that outbreak, making it one of the largest in the country in three decades.
The Texas experience showed how quickly measles can spread in under-vaccinated communities and how difficult it can be to contain once it gains momentum.
Now other states are facing similar problems. South Carolina health officials reported on March 6 that the outbreak had reached 991 cases. Utah said 358 people had been diagnosed with measles since its outbreak began in June 2025, with infections now reported across the state. California health officials said there were two localized outbreaks as of mid-February, and by March 2 the state had reported 26 confirmed cases in 2026. Meaning so far this year there have been more cases of measles than in all of 2025.
Health authorities say there is a pattern to the virus’ spread. Nearly all cases are among people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown. CDC data show about 93% of 2026 measles patients fall into that category. At the same time, childhood vaccine exemptions continue to rise. The CDC reported that exemptions among U.S.
kindergartners rose to 3.6% in the 2024-25 school year.
Measles is among the most contagious viruses known, and public health agencies in several states are now warning that continued pockets of low immunization make further spread likely. The MMR vaccine is safe and highly effective. Two doses provide lifetime protection.
Guest:
Dr. Giridhar Mallya is the Senior Policy Officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
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