Measles and the World Cup

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.

From CDC:

As of June 11, 2026, 2,073 confirmed* measles cases were reported in the United States in 2026. Among these, 2,063 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 10 measles cases were reported among international visitors to the United States.

There have been 30 new outbreaks** reported in 2026, and 93% of confirmed cases (1,929 of 2,073) are outbreak-associated (593 from outbreaks starting in 2026 and 1,336 from outbreaks that started in 2025

Meghan Holohan at CIDRAP:

“Disease surveillance is disease surveillance every day of the week,” Garrow, Philadelphia deputy health commissioner, told CIDRAP News. “What is changing in terms of the World Cup is how intense that disease surveillance is going to look.”

While Garrow worries about heat-related illnesses and air quality, there’s one infectious disease he’s most concerned about. “Measles is probably our top worry,” he said. “We’ve already put out communications to our regional healthcare providers about what to look for.”

With recent outbreaks in the United States, lower vaccination rates, and people traveling, it seems more likely than ever that a fan with measles could be in the stands at the World Cup. This year, stadiums and Fan Festivals packed with cheering people could make it easy for measles to thrive.

“Measles tends to hang around in the air. It’s very small particles and it just floats there for up to two hours after someone with measles has been in the space,” Garrow said. “How many people could potentially have gone through that particular site in two hours after the person left?”