In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the myth that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread. Examples include measles, COVID, flu, and polio. A top antivaxxer is HHS Secretary RFK Jr. He is part of the "Disinformation Dozen." He helped cause a deadly 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa.
As of May 21, 2026, 1,952 confirmed* measles cases were reported in the United States in 2026. Among these, 1,943 measles cases were reported by 40 jurisdictions: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, New York State, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. A total of 9 measles cases were reported among international visitors to the United States.
There have been 29 new outbreaks** reported in 2026, and 93% of confirmed cases (1,815 of 1,952) are outbreak-associated (487 from outbreaks starting in 2026 and 1,328 from outbreaks that started in 2025).
For the full year of 2025, a total of 2,288 confirmed* measles cases were reported in the United States.
Hundreds have died from a serious outbreak in Bangladesh. Simon Ellery at CBS:
The CDC says most U.S. outbreaks begin when an unvaccinated traveler brings the virus home from a country experiencing a large outbreak.
According to the CDC, Mexico, Guatemala, parts of South Asia (where Bangladesh is) and Africa are experiencing worrying outbreaks.
CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Céline Gounder said Monday that this summer will bring a major challenge for U.S. health officials as thousands of fans visit for the soccer World Cup championship, which is being jointly hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
"My biggest concern for the World Cup is actually measles. It's not hantavirus, it is not Ebola. Measles is what has me concerned," Gounder said, noting outbreaks of the highly infectious disease "in different parts of the world."
