Utah Becomes the New Center of U.S. Measles Cases

Utah has become a national hotspot for measles, with nearly 600 cases reported since an outbreak began along the Utah–Arizona border last summer. About one-third of patients have required emergency care, and 49 have been hospitalized, often for complications such as severe dehydration and respiratory illness, including pneumonia.

 

The outbreak has spread across 22 of Utah’s 29 counties and is affecting the broader population amid rising childhood vaccine exemptions, which reached about 11% of kindergartners in 2024–25.

Public health officials emphasize that the MMR vaccine remains about 97% effective and is critical to controlling transmission in communities with declining coverage. Read more in the NY Times here.