Measles spreads across Utah
An outbreak of measles in Utah has seen a steep rise in cases over nearly a year.
Since summer 2025, about 600 cases of measles have been reported predominantly among children in Utah — one-third of which resulted in emergency department treatment for symptoms such as severe dehydration — according to a news article from The New York Times. However, rather than having a more limited impact confined to specific communities, as seen with outbreaks in Texas and South Carolina in 2025, the virus has been transmitted across the general population in about three-quarters of Utah’s counties.
Experts cited in the article suggested that the high number of cases could be linked to measles, mumps and rubella vaccine exemptions among school-age children whose parents opted out of the mandated vaccination requirement. For instance, compared with 7% in 2020, 11% of kindergarten-age students hadn’t received the MMR vaccine during the 2024-25 academic year. Both percentages brought Utah below the 95% vaccination rate critical to protect communities from the measles virus.
The experts detailed that measles is known to cause pneumonia and other respiratory complications. Although the MMR vaccine is safe and effective in preventing measles infections, many parents have expressed concerns over the vaccine’s adverse effects because of misinformation and mixed messaging from legislators.
In response to the ongoing outbreak, public health officials have advised that parents in high-risk areas vaccinate their children aged 6 to 11 months against measles earlier than the standard Age 1 recommendation. A panel of experts will determine if the United States will lose its measles elimination status in November, a standing the country has held since 2000.
Read more: The New York Times
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