# Measles surges as health officials fall silent

> The U.S. faces its worst measles outbreak in 35 years, but federal health leaders are downplaying the crisis instead of urging vaccination.
- Title: Measles surges as health officials fall silent · TIME
- Summary: The U.S. faces its worst measles outbreak in 35 years, but federal health leaders are downplaying the crisis instead of urging vaccination. Measles is…
- Keywords: measles outbreak, vaccination, cdc, hhs, robert f. kennedy jr., pennsylvania, mmr vaccine, public health, childhood disease, Measles, surges, health
- Source: TIME — https://time.com/article/2026/09/30/children-are-back-in-school-measles-is-too-debra-houry-essay
- Author: Deb Houry
- Published: 2026-09-30T13:50:07.98+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: measles outbreak, vaccination, cdc, hhs, robert f. kennedy jr., pennsylvania, mmr vaccine, public health, childhood disease
## Measles returns at 35-year high
This fall, measles is spreading at levels not seen in 35 years in the U.S. Children have died, and a single daycare outbreak in Georgia has infected 10 children in just one month.
## CDC drops vaccination from back-to-school
The CDC's back-to-school messages on X have advised families about sleep, physical activity, healthy lunches, and bullying. But the message to get children up to date on routine vaccinations is noticeably absent.
## Deaths disappear from official count
Four measles-associated deaths reported by Pennsylvania were initially absent from CDC's national dashboard. Two were posted in late August with an asterisk, then removed without clear explanation. Now two deaths appear without identifying states.
## Federal officials dispute death definitions
HHS and CDC leaders disagree with Pennsylvania over how to count measles deaths. When Pennsylvania announced its first two deaths in late August, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services, questioned if the deaths were fabricated.
## Vaccination rates fall short of safety
One dose of MMR vaccine is approximately 93 percent effective against measles; two doses are approximately 97 percent effective. But approximately 280,000 kindergartners attended school during the 2025-2026 school year without documentation of completing the MMR series.
## Exemptions leave communities vulnerable
Vaccine exemptions in 24 states exceeded 5 percent, meaning these communities no longer have the 95 percent adequate protection needed to keep measles from spreading. Each unvaccinated student exposed to measles must stay home for at least 21 days.
## Measles costs and long-term damage
Each measles case costs the public-health system on average fifty eight thousand six hundred dollars to respond to, including contact tracing and quarantines. Measles can also cause immune amnesia, making children more likely to get other infections over the next two to three years.
## Federal leaders pair vaccines with doubt
Federal health leaders have paired lukewarm vaccination recommendations with insinuations and incorrect information about vaccine ingredients, fetal tissue, or waning immunity. The same week families needed clarity about the outbreak, Kennedy addressed a conference hosted by Children's Health Defense, the anti-vaccine organization he once led.
## Pennsylvania shows how to respond
Pennsylvania has opened nearly 150 pop-up vaccination clinics in homes and community centers, engaged health systems and local clinics, requested federal support, developed a dashboard showing community transmission by county, and worked with coroners to investigate deaths.
## Key takeaway

Measles is spreading at levels unseen in 35 years with children dying, yet CDC has removed vaccination from back-to-school messaging and federal officials are disputing death counts instead of promoting prevention.