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. Last year, he lied about it under oath.
Since Trump took office in 2025, the U.S. has recorded more confirmed measles cases than in the previous 20 years combined. With more than two months to go in 2026, the US has already DOUBLED its 2025 total.
As of November 5, 2026, 5,182 confirmed* measles cases were reported in the United States in 2026. Among these, 5,164 measles cases were reported by 47 jurisdictions: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, 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, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. A total of 18 measles cases were reported among international visitors to the United States.
There have been 43 new outbreaks** reported in 2026, and 96% of confirmed cases (4,993 of 5,182) are outbreak-associated (3,608 from outbreaks starting in 2026 and 1,385 from outbreaks that started in 2025).
For the full year of 2025, a total of 2,289 confirmed* measles cases were reported in the United States.
An infant in Wisconsin has died from measles, the state health department said Thursday.
It’s the first death in the state since 1990. This brings the total number of measles deaths reported by state health departments across the country to eight: six in Pennsylvania, one in New York and one in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin has reported 431 measles cases so far this year, the highest number in the state in more than 35 years. Nine people have required hospitalization, according to health officials.
