Measles cases surpass 2025 total as Delaware declares first outbreak in decade
National kindergarten MMR coverage fell to 92.5% for the 2024-2025 school year, below the 95% herd-immunity threshold, leaving pockets of susceptible people where the virus spreads.
National kindergarten MMR coverage fell to 92.5% for the 2024-2025 school year, below the 95% herd-immunity threshold, leaving pockets of susceptible people where the virus spreads.
Johns Hopkins tracker recorded 2,295 confirmed U.S. measles cases as of July 21, surpassing the full-year 2025 total, while Delaware declared its first outbreak in more than a decade on July 22.
Why it matters: Local transmission can close schools, raise household medical costs, and expose unvaccinated family members to a disease that still hospitalizes about 6% of cases.
Date to watch: Next CDC provisional case update expected around July 31, 2026
Sources:
- Johns Hopkins IVAC 2026 U.S. Measles Cases Surpass 2025 Level (2026-07-22)
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/ivac/2026/2026-us-measles-cases-surpass-2025-level - Johns Hopkins U.S. Measles Tracker (2026-07-22)
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/ivac/resources/us-measles-tracker - CDC Measles Cases and Outbreaks (2026-07-17)
https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html - CDC SchoolVaxView Kindergarten Coverage (2025-09-01)
https://www.cdc.gov/schoolvaxview/data/index.html - Delaware Division of Public Health Measles Outbreak Declaration (2026-07-22)
https://news.delaware.gov/2026/07/22/delaware-declares-measles-outbreak/ - Johns Hopkins CSSE Measles Data Repository (2026-07-22)
https://github.com/CSSEGISandData/measles_data
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