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Measles has been considered eliminated in the United States for more than two decades now
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but despite that, new cases continue to surge. So far in 2025, there have been more than 1,200 confirmed cases across 38 states
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with the most being in Texas, the epicenter of this outbreak. That has surpassed the last
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major measles outbreak of 2019, when 1,274 cases were reported in the entire year
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So far, three deaths have been confirmed to be linked to the current outbreak
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More than half the cases are in children 19 and younger. In nearly all cases, 92 percent are in people who are not vaccinated against the virus
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or whose vaccination status was unknown, according to the CDC. The agency says one in five of those who contract measles require hospitalization
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This comes amid a decline in measles vaccination rates nationwide. A study released last month by Johns Hopkins University looked at more than 2,000 counties in 33 states across the United States and found 78% saw a drop in vaccination rates
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