Pennsylvania greatly contributes to United States' loss of measles elimination status

 

Dashboard:  Pennsylvania Department of Health

Headline:  WHYY Philadelphia, 11/14/2026

Nicole Leonard reports:

The United States has lost its global measles elimination status, according to multiple news outlets, as Pennsylvania continues to tackle one of the nation’s largest measles outbreaks of the past three decades. 

Citing officials close to the decision making process, outlets such as The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal wrote that the Pan America Health Organization, a branch of the World Health Organization, has revoked the country’s measles elimination status, which it achieved in 2000 after mass vaccination campaigns. 

The decision comes as Pennsylvania has seen more than 1,500 residents infected with the highly contagious measles virus so far this year, with nearly all cases occurring in unvaccinated adults and children, according to state data. State officials have reported seven measles-related deaths, including two infants, as of Nov. 13.

 Lancaster County is ground zero of Pennsylvania measles outbreak.

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