Measles Cases Rise Nationally, Sparking Vaccination Concerns in Utah – Deseret News
As of September 30, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports 1,544 lab-confirmed cases of measles nationally. in 2024, 285 measles cases were recorded across the United States. This year, 2025, has already seen 21 cases among international visitors, with the remaining 1,523 cases identified in 42 jurisdictions including Alabama, Alaska, arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, New York State, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Nationwide, the CDC reports that 4% of measles cases occurred in individuals who had received one dose of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine, and another 4% in those who had received both recommended doses. The vast majority - 92% – were either unvaccinated or had unkown vaccination status.Nearly 40% of cases have been diagnosed in the school-age population (5-19 years), while 27% were in children under 5. Twelve percent of those infected required hospitalization due to symptom severity, and tragically, three deaths have been attributed to measles this year.
Federal officials are emphasizing the importance of vaccination. Acting CDC director Jim O’Neill, who also serves as deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human services, stated that vaccines “not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity.”
In Utah, data from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services for the 2024-25 school year reveals concerning trends in vaccination rates. approximately 10% of in-person kindergarten students either have an exemption for the MMR vaccine or lack documentation confirming vaccination. 9.0% of in-person kindergarten students have an exemption to any school-required vaccine.This figure rises to 10.1% when including students in online schools.
An analysis by NBC News and Stanford University highlighted low vaccination rates in Washington County, Utah, near the arizona border, where approximately 79% of kindergartners are vaccinated against measles. This is only slightly higher than the rate in gaines County, Texas, the epicenter of an earlier 2025 outbreak. Experts emphasize that a 95% vaccination rate is necesary to achieve herd immunity.
David heaton, the public details officer for the Southwest Utah Public Health Department, told NBC News, ”I’ve worked for this health department for about 18 years, and we’ve never seen a case of measles that I know of up until this point.” He added, “We are just at that low rate of (vaccine) uptake that dose leave us open for this kind of an outbreak.”
Health officials in Arizona and Utah are currently collaborating to address the ongoing outbreak.
