Measles: Year in Review
2025 was a return to having a measles year!
Most folks are no longer familiar with the term ‘measles year.’
In the pre-vaccine era, it was how they described those years that were particularly bad, when even more kids got sick and died than in a regular year.
For whatever reason, these bad years would cycle through every 3–4 years, although, to be sure, lots of kids still got sick and died each year anyway. But instead of 300 measles deaths, during a measles year, it would soar to over 500 deaths!
2025 Was a Measles Year
It’s hard to imagine that many kids dying with measles, isn’t it?
And of course, that’s part of the problem these days…
Anti-vaccine influencers can easily scare parents away from vaccinating and protecting their kids because no one remembers just how bad diseases like measles really are.
That has lead to lower vaccination rates and the most measles cases in the United States in over thirty years!
What other records did we hit in 2025?
We had:
the largest single outbreak (Texas) since the endemic spread of measles was eliminated - 803
the longest outbreak since the endemic spread of measles was eliminated - as the same strain has been circulating in the US for the past year, which means we will almost certainly lose our measles-free designation very soon
measles in a record number of states - forty-five
the most measles deaths in one year in over thirty years - three
the most kids hospitalized with measles in one year in over thirty years - 162
We also have our public health agencies under the control of someone who thinks that this is all fine and we are starting 2026 with the most measles cases in January since 1991, when we ended up with nearly 10,000 cases and 27 deaths…
Tragically, even with all folks are doing to counter anti-vaccine influencers, that means that this year will almost certainly be much, much worse.