Nearly 800 cases in one state
Pennsylvania's measles outbreak keeps growing. The state Department of Health reported 792 confirmed cases across 39 counties as of September 21, making it the largest measles outbreak in the country this year. Local reports said about 55 more cases were confirmed in the three days to September 26.
Lancaster County, home to one of the largest plain communities in the United States, accounts for 185 of the cases. Officials have linked at least two deaths to the outbreak — Pennsylvania's first measles deaths in 35 years, and the first US measles fatalities of 2026. Both people who died were unvaccinated.
Vaccination demand jumps
Demand for the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine has risen sharply. Health care providers in the state normally give about 25,000 MMR doses a month. In August they gave more than 46,000, and more than 25,000 doses were administered in the first two weeks of September alone.
The Department of Health is running a free MMR clinic from September 26 to October 3 at the Bloomsburg Fair in Columbia County, which has reported two cases. Officials described the clinic as a way of meeting residents where they already are.
A preventable disease returns
Two doses of the MMR vaccine are 97 percent effective at preventing measles for life. The virus was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, and public health experts warn the country is likely to lose that status because of outbreaks since last year.
Pediatricians have urged political leaders to speak up for vaccination. The American Academy of Pediatrics said deaths from a disease that has been preventable since the 1970s are heartbreaking, and called on officials to encourage MMR shots to stop the spread.
Measles is one of the most contagious viruses known, and outbreaks usually begin in communities with low vaccination rates. State officials say the current outbreak has not yet peaked.