There were 285 new cases of measles in the U.S. in 2024. Measles, also known as rubeola, is an infectious disease that is highly contagious and affects mostly children. Common symptoms of measles include fever, runny nose, sore throat, cough, and a rash. Although death rates from measles have decreased around the world, it is still responsible for around 81,000 deaths worldwide per year. Measles vaccination The main reason for the decrease in measles cases and deaths is due to high vaccination rates. The widely used MMR vaccine protects against measles, mumps, and rubella and is safe and effective. In 2023, around 91 percent of adolescents in the U.S. aged 13 to 17 years had received an MMR vaccination. However, in recent years there has been a rise in measles cases in many parts of the world due to vaccine hesitancy. Vaccine hesitancy Vaccine hesitancy refers to a refusal or reluctance to have children vaccinated, despite the overwhelming evidence that vaccines are safe and effective. This hesitancy comes from a misunderstanding of the ingredients in vaccines and how they work, a mistrust of doctors and pharmaceutical companies, and belief in the unfounded associations of vaccines with other diseases and disorders.

In 1919, there were almost 13 deaths from measles per 100,000 population in the United States. However, this rate had dropped to zero by the year 2021. In early 2025, an outbreak of measles in Texas resulted in the death of a child. This was the first measles death in the United States since 2015. Measles is a highly contagious disease, that is especially dangerous for children. However, vaccines have significantly decreased the rate of cases and deaths in the United States.

This statistic shows the annual number of cases of select infectious diseases in the U.S. before and after the development and use of vaccinations as of 2022. Before the use of vaccinations there were an estimated 530,217 new cases of measles per year in the United States. This number dropped to 121 new cases in 2022 due to the development and use of vaccinations.

In 2023, there were a total of 58 cases of measles in the United States. Around 72 percent of measles cases that year were attributed to unvaccinated individuals. Meanwhile, those with two doses of vaccination only accounted for just three percent of cases. This statistic shows the number of measles cases reported in the United States from 2020 to 2024, by vaccination status.

As of 2017, around 91.5 percent of children in the U.S. aged 19 to 35 months had been vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR). The MMR vaccine is widely used around the world and is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for adults who don’t have immunity and all children.

Measles

The number of cases of measles in the United States has dropped significantly since the introduction of the MMR vaccination. However, there has been a recent increase in measles cases, due to the growth of the vaccine hesitancy movement. Despite claims from this movement, the MMR vaccine is safe and effective. One dose of the MMR vaccine is around 93 percent effective against measles, while two doses is 97 percent effective.

Mumps

The MMR vaccine has resulted in a similar decrease in the rate of mumps cases in the U.S. One dose of the MMR vaccine is 78 percent effective against mumps, while two doses is 88 percent effective. Although the MMR vaccine is safe and effective, like any medicine it can have side effects. Common side effects include fever, a mild rash and temporary joint pain and stiffness.

IntroductionVaccine-preventable diseases continue to cause morbidity and mortality despite the introduction of childhood immunizations. Recent media reports from Canada and the United States of America (USA) have highlighted a rise in childhood illnesses like measles, which could have been prevented with vaccines. Parents play a pivotal role in ensuring their children receive timely vaccinations. Immunization reminders can help parents who forget or miss vaccination appointments. In the USA, current literature indicates that Black children have lower vaccination rates than other racialized children and vaccine reminders may improve measles vaccine uptake among Black parents. However, there is limited data in Canada on vaccine uptake in children of Black parents, with evidence suggesting vaccine hesitancy among the Black population.ObjectiveThis scoping review aims to map out existing literature on immunization reminder strategies among parents to identify their impact in improving childhood vaccination rates and promoting child health.Inclusion criteriaThe review will include studies conducted in Canada and the United States of America that focus on immunization reminders for parents who have children under six years and published in English between 2015 and 2025.MethodsDatabase and hand-searching of journals and gray literature will be carried out to retrieve pertinent articles. Studies that meet the inclusion criteria will be eligible for selection. The process of selecting eligible studies will then be summarized on a PRISMA-ScR chart. Collated in data-extraction tables will be authorship information, publication date, methods and findings. The findings, key arguments and themes will be analyzed using a thematic analysis and summarized using a narrative summary.ConclusionThis review will contribute to the existing knowledge on parental preferences for vaccine reminder strategies and their usefulness in increasing childhood vaccination rates. The findings will inform and improve public health strategies aimed at boosting vaccine uptake among children.

From January 1 to October 7, 2025, there were 1,563 measles cases in the United States. So far, Texas has reported the highest number of measles cases in 2025. Measles is a highly contagious disease that can be especially dangerous for young children. Vaccines against measles resulted in a significant decrease in cases in the United States over the last few decades; however, increasing vaccine hesitancy and skepticism have been blamed for recent outbreaks.

Although there has been an overall decline in a number of vaccine-preventable diseases in the U.S., the number of pertussis cases has increased since 1980. This statistic shows the number of reported cases of select vaccine-preventable diseases in the U.S. from 1980 to 2022.

In 2024, there were a total of 285 cases of measles in the United States, with 120 of these cases among children aged under five years. From January 1 to September 30, 2025, there were 1,544 cases of measles. There were also three reported deaths from the disease during this time, the first deaths since 2015. Measles is a highly contagious disease that can be especially dangerous for young children. Vaccines against measles resulted in a significant decrease in cases in the United States over the last few decades; however, increasing vaccine hesitancy and skepticism has been blamed for recent outbreaks.

Information about school immunization requirements and data

In the period from January 1, 2023 to September 28, 2025, the week starting March 30, 2025 had the highest number of measles cases, with 115 reported cases. Measles is a highly contagious disease that can be especially dangerous for young children. Vaccines against measles resulted in a significant decrease in cases in the United States over the last few decades; however, increasing vaccine hesitancy and skepticism have been blamed for recent outbreaks.

As seen in the graph, there has been a sharp decline in the number of reported cases of both measles and pertussis (whooping cough) since 1980 as a result of vaccines. This statistic shows the number of reported cases of selected vaccine-preventable diseases worldwide, from 1980 to 2024, by disease.

Vaccination rates among one-year-olds have risen drastically in the past four decades, with global coverage for some of the most important vaccines increasing from below twenty percent in 1980 to above eighty percent in 2021. Several vaccines introduced on a larger scale in the 1990s, such as the Hepatitis B vaccine, have increased from just one percent coverage to well over two thirds coverage today. As many infants receive multiple vaccines at one time, or as barriers to healthcare access are lifted, this has meant that global coverage trends have been fairly similar for the most common vaccines, and that coverage for newly developed vaccines has grown relatively quickly (such as the Hepatitis B and Inactivated Polio vaccines). Recent backsliding The COVID-19 pandemic marked the first time in recent history where coverage among one year olds dropped for multiple vaccines. In some cases, global coverage fell by as much as five or six percent for vaccines including diptheria/pertussus/tetanus, hepatitus B, measles, and polio. This backslide has been attributed to a variety of factors, such as weakened healthcare systems in less developed regions, the spread of misinformation surrounding vaccines, disruptions due to containment measures, supply chain issues, and the diversion of medical resources. It had been hoped that 2020 would be an anomaly, and that figures would return to their previous trajectory in 2021, but rising malnutrition and and weaker food supply to the poorest regions has exacerbated this further.

In 2024, there were a total of 285 cases of measles in the United States. That year, around half of measles cases among children aged under five years were hospitalized for isolation or for management of measles complications. From January 1 to September 30, 2025, there were 1,544 cases of measles, with 22 percent of cases among children under five needing hospitalization. Measles is a highly contagious disease that can be especially dangerous for young children. Vaccines against measles resulted in a significant decrease in cases in the United States over the last few decades; however, increasing vaccine hesitancy and skepticism has been blamed for recent outbreaks.

The number of confirmed cases of rubella, a vaccine-preventable disease, in the United States has decreased dramatically since 1998. This statistic shows the number of cases of rubella in the United States reported each year from 1998 to 2021.

In 2023, there were 11 reported cases of measles in Canada, compared to over two thousand cases in 1995. This statistic shows the number of reported cases of measles in Canada from 1930 to 2023.

In 2024, around 1,185 petitions were filed with the United States National Injury Compensation Program (VICP) seeking compensation for injury or death caused by vaccines. However, just because a petition was filed seeking compensation for injury or death due to a vaccination does not mean that compensation was awarded. Over half of all such petitions filed in the U.S. since 1988 have been dismissed, and in 60 percent of cases in which compensation was awarded it was still not determined whether the alleged vaccine caused the alleged injury. The impact of vaccinations Vaccinations in the United States have had a significant impact on infectious diseases. For example, as of 2017, there are only about 120 new cases of measles per year, compared to over half a million annual cases before the use of vaccination. Vaccinations in the U.S. have also greatly decreased the number of annual cases of hepatitis A and B, rubella, and tetanus. COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy Vaccine hesitancy is a persistent issue in the United States. The issue became especially pertinent during the COVID-19 pandemic in which many people in the United States expressed reluctance to getting a COVID-19 vaccination. In December 2020, 59 percent of adults in the United States who stated they would definitely not or probably not get a COVID-19 vaccine said so because they were worried about possible side effects, while 55 percent said they probably wouldn’t get a COVID-19 vaccination because they do not trust the government to make sure the vaccine is safe and effective. Shockingly, one survey found that even 29 percent of health care workers stated they would probably or definitely not get a COVID-19 vaccine.