As July came to an end, the United States reached an undesirable milestone: exceeding the total number of confirmed cases of measles recorded in 2025. The current case count (2,371 individuals) makes it the highest tally recorded in three decades. This tally comes as clusters of infection are recorded in Utah, South Carolina and Arizona.
While just a few states have recorded confirmed cases of this infection, the overriding fear is that outbreaks of this disease could occur in other states as well since the infection can spread rapidly.
The experience of Delaware gives proof of this concern. In July, the state identified the first confirmed case of measles. Two days afterwards, state officials declared that there was an outbreak in Delaware after five individuals were confirmed to have been infected.
One key concern in Delaware is the declining rate of vaccination against measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases. In 2016, the state had an MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccination rate of 98.5% among kids attending kindergarten. This year, the rate stands at 94.1%. That drop is concerning because a minimum coverage of approximately 95% is required to achieve herd immunity.
Through herd immunity, community members like those with compromised immune systems, the elderly and babies who haven’t reached the age at which this vaccine is administered are protected from exposure to infection. Vaccination rates below the herd immunity threshold put these individuals at risk of infection.
In response to this latest outbreak, officials in Delaware have responded with a two-pronged approach that involves swiftly identifying the contacts of a person that has been confirmed to be infected, and also ramping up vaccination drives.
Contact tracing has especially been impactful because the four other cases of measles were confirmed after tracing the contacts of the first person to test positive for measles in the state. This has strengthened the resolve of the authorities to intensify contact tracing so that the outbreak can be contained.
However, the health system in Delaware, like elsewhere around the country, faces several challenges in its efforts to contain the latest surge in measles cases. First, staff is overworked and under-resourced due to funding cuts made at the federal level.
Additionally, misinformation about vaccination has made it harder to vaccinate those who should be vaccinated. For example, persistent misinformation linking vaccination to autism has led members of the public to be less willing to be vaccinated or have their kids vaccinated. The federal health secretary, Kennedy Jr., has campaigned against vaccination even long before he was appointed to head the federal health agency.
Additionally, more people lack health insurance today after premiums surged in the wake of the expiry of the ACA subsidies. This is making it harder for those who need medical care to access it.
The measles outbreak couldn’t have come at a worse time, and it is likely that different stakeholders in the health care sector, such as Astiva Health, are scrambling to respond to this situation as best they can.
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