Dorothy

“My deepest sympathies are with the loved ones who are facing this unimaginable loss,” said state Health Secretary Dr. Debra Bogen. “Because measles was largely eliminated in the Commonwealth for more than three decades, people are not familiar with this disease and don’t fully understand the potential severity of the illness.”

“My deepest sympathies are with the loved ones who are facing this unimaginable loss,” said the Pennsylvania secretary of health, Dr Debra Bogen, in a statement. “Because measles was largely eliminated in the Commonwealth for more than three decades, people are not familiar with this disease and don’t fully understand the potential severity of the illness.”

“Because measles was largely eliminated in the Commonwealth for more than three decades, people are not familiar with this disease and don’t fully understand the potential severity of the illness,” said Secretary of Health Debra Bogen.

“Because measles was largely eliminated in the Commonwealth for more than three decades, people are not familiar with this disease and don’t fully understand the potential severity of the illness,” Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen wrote in a statement. “As a physician, I want to make sure that people understand that the MMR vaccine is safe and provides the best protection we have against measles.”

"Because measles was largely eliminated in the Commonwealth for more than three decades, people are not familiar with this disease and don't fully understand the potential severity of the illness."

The U.S. is enduring its worst year for measles since 1991. Earlier this summer, it surpassed 2025’s record-breaking measles count, with 2,777 cases as of Thursday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The nation had 2,289 cases in 2025, the worst year for measles in more than three decades. Three people died last year.

The US has seen 2,777 confirmed cases of measles in 2026, just seven months into the year, up from last year's high of 2,289.

Measles has surged in the United States this year, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting 2,777 confirmed cases nationwide as of August 20.

So far 70 people in the state have been hospitalized for measles complications. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2,777 measles cases have been reported nationwide this year, the highest number in 35 years in the U.S. The majority of infected people are unvaccinated, according to the CDC.

The overall 2026 figures represent the highest number of U.S. cases in a single year since a major resurgence of the highly contagious disease in the period between 1989 and 1991, with more than 55,000 infections and 123 deaths.

Three people died of measles last year, an adult in New Mexico, and two young girls in Texas.

The measles mumps rubella vaccine, given in two doses around age 1 and age 5, offer 97% protection against measles, usually for life.

The US is on track to lose its status of having eliminated measles, which will be determined by a panel in November. Canada lost its status last year.