More and more people in the US are getting sick with measles. Authorities are now urging people to get vaccinated, but this is not enough to stop the spread of the infection.
The airborne infection is highly contagious and kills about 95,000 people worldwide each year. It is especially dangerous for unvaccinated children and can cause not only diarrhea, dehydration, ear infections or respiratory problems, but also blindness or inflammation of the brain.
In the US, the number of measles cases is increasing nationwide and has already reached its highest level since 2000. By international standards, the US is still considered a measles-free country. This year, however, the United States may lose this status, as it seems that, especially in Texas and South Carolina, they are failing to stop the spread of the infection.
Against this backdrop, the director of the CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) health service, Mehmet Oz, appointed by President Donald Trump last year, has urged the population to get vaccinated. He assured CNN that the problem with this disease can be solved. "Please get vaccinated", he urged Americans and added that measles is a disease against which one simply must get vaccinated.
CNN did not fail to remind him that his recommendation for vaccination contradicts the opinion of his immediate superior - US Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has long questioned the safety of vaccines. Since taking office, Kennedy has revised US vaccination recommendations, including those for hepatitis B, Covid and the combined measles, mumps, rubella and varicella vaccine. It is therefore unlikely that Oz's recommendation will lead to a sudden reversal in vaccination readiness in the US.
The percentage of people vaccinated against measles is already below 95%, which is below the threshold needed for herd immunity. In some parts of the country, including those currently experiencing an increase in cases, it is even much lower. "The appeal of CMS chief Dr. Mehmet Oz is insufficient and comes too late", assures Prof. Sruthi Nadimpali of Stanford University in an email to DW. "We need policymakers to advocate more actively, decisively, and consistently for childhood vaccinations, which have been proven safe and effective many times over", she wrote.
The World Health Organization (WHO) also makes it clear that the most effective way to prevent infection and transmission is through vaccination.
Infections are rising in the U.S., falling worldwide
Since the U.S. was classified as measles-free in 2000, the current increase is coming from a low base: The Johns Hopkins University Center for International Vaccine Access has recorded 866 cases in the first five weeks of this year. By comparison, there were just 71 cases in the same period last year.
In other parts of the world, the trend is the opposite - measles cases are falling. Europe and Central Asia have seen a 75 percent decline in cases since a record high in 2024. But experts still see no sign of a steady trend. While the decline is encouraging, the WHO and UNICEF are warning governments not to be complacent. In September 2025, 32 European countries were declared measles-free, but by January, several others had lost that status again.
Measles has re-emerged in countries like Austria, Spain and the United Kingdom, where the disease had previously been eradicated. Like the United States, health services in Europe and Central Asia are grappling with a combination of inadequate vaccination rates, a loss of herd immunity and a surge in cases among vulnerable populations.
On both sides of the Atlantic, the problem is being exacerbated by apathy and a lack of understanding of the dangers posed by the highly contagious – and potentially fatal – childhood disease. "Given the global trend, we think there is a serious problem", Fatima Cengic, an immunologist at UNICEF responsible for Europe and Central Asia, told DW.
According to Cengic, vaccinations have become a victim of their own success. Thanks to vaccination programs, measles has become rare. However, the indifference that followed has led to a decline in vaccination rates. This indifference is observed not only among families, but also among governments, which are less willing to fund vaccination programs, she added.
"We no longer see so many children dying from infections because they were not vaccinated. That is why some diseases are no longer perceived as a threat by people," explains Cengic.