Case counts climb nationwide

The measles outbreak us officials are tracking added 178 cases this week, according to new CDC data, with the vaccine-preventable illness still sickening people across at least 43 outbreaks. The figures come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which published the updated numbers on Friday.

The national picture for the year now stands at:

• •4,588 measles cases across the country in 2026 as of Friday
• •More than double the total tally recorded in 2025

Pennsylvania and other hot spots

Pennsylvania alone reported 1,338 cases on the same day. Large outbreaks are also under way in South Carolina and Utah, both of which are reporting more than 500 cases.

Pennsylvania has had the worst outbreak in the country for months. State authorities have reported five measles-associated deaths and are investigating a sixth.

The CDC, by contrast, has reported three measles deaths nationally - and has not said where the third one took place.

Political fight over vaccine policy

The outbreak has unfolded against a dispute inside the federal health apparatus. According to Reuters, Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr asked senior CDC officials in September to remove a measles death from the official tally after questioning whether the disease contributed to it.

This week, the Department of Health and Human Services announced changes to vaccine injury reporting, including a proposal that will allow doctors to bill for reporting suspected vaccine injuries to VAERS.

Kennedy has also reshaped the bodies that advise on vaccines. He fired all 17 sitting members of the expert vaccine advisory panel and replaced them with members aligned with his views; a court blocked the appointments in March. As secretary, he has linked vaccines to autism in spite of extensive evidence to the contrary, and directed the CDC to remove claims that vaccines do not cause autism from its website.

He claimed the MMR vaccine contains "aborted fetal debris", and stated that vitamin A and cod liver oil may help children with measles - suggestions that leading physicians called misleading.

What the illness and the vaccine do

Measles sends one in five unvaccinated people who become infected to the hospital, and one to three people in 1,000 die of complications. Common symptoms - rash, runny nose, fever and cough - may not immediately send the infected to a doctor.

The measles vaccine is 97% effective at preventing the disease. Side effects include injection-site soreness and low-grade fever.

Pennsylvania authorities are investigating a possible sixth measles-associated death while the CDC continues to update its weekly national figures.