--- title: U.S. May Be on Track for a Measles Outbreak Record description: The CDC has confirmed almost 100 more measles cases since last week, pushing 2019 closer to record measles case counts. canonical: https://time.com/5566055/2019-measles-case-count/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-04-08T18:45:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T00:02:50.000Z article:section: Health og:title: The U.S. May Be on Track for a Measles Outbreak Record og:description: There are 626 cases confirmed og:url: https://time.com/5566055/2019-measles-case-count/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba1fab198be5f1b4/698947e5db298798ba2621e1/measles-cases.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: US-HEALTH-RELIGION-VACCINES-MEASLES og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The U.S. May Be on Track for a Measles Outbreak Record twitter:description: There are 626 cases confirmed twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba1fab198be5f1b4/698947e5db298798ba2621e1/measles-cases.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The U.S. May Be on Track for the Most Measles Cases Since the Disease Was Declared Eliminated > Sponsored content. 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Updated: Dec 13, 2023 12:02 AM UTCPublished: Apr 8, 2019 6:45 PM UTC The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed nearly 100 more measles diagnoses since last week, pushing the 2019 case count closer to record levels less than halfway through the year. The CDC has confirmed 626 measles cases in 22 states so far this year, according to the agency’s [latest numbers](https://www.cdc.gov/measles/cases-outbreaks.html). That’s up from 555 cases in 20 states the week before. Many cases have been clustered in New York and the Pacific Northwest, where widespread outbreaks are in progress. If cases continue to accumulate, the U.S. may see more measles diagnoses in 2019 than in any year since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000\. Currently, that record is held by the 667 cases recorded in 2014, when an outbreak among Ohio’s Amish communities contributed 383 cases alone. Measles is a highly contagious viral illness that leads to fever, cough, runny nose and a telltale rash. While measles can be fatal in rare, serious cases, there has not been a measles death in the U.S. since 2015\. It can be prevented by vaccines. Resurgence of the preventable illness is due largely to pockets of vaccine skepticism around the country. Most of the outbreaks currently underway — including that among [New York City’s Orthodox Jewish community](https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/measles.page) — began when international travelers brought measles back from countries such as Israel, Ukraine and the Philippines, then spread the disease to unvaccinated individuals back home, according to the CDC. States in which many parents opt not to vaccinate their children for personal or philosophical reasons, [including Washington](http://time.com/5524505/measles-washington-vaccination/), also tend to have larger outbreaks. All states require children to get certain vaccines before attending school, but most currently allow for non-medical exemptions. Some states are [moving to tighten exemption policies](https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/430333-washington-state-house-committee-passes-bill-to-ban-vaccine-exemptions) in light of measles outbreaks, while others are actually [trying to loosen them](https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/06/health/vaccine-exemption-bills-across-us-trnd/index.html). As outbreaks continue to intensify, local health officials are taking increasingly dramatic steps to end them. In Rockland County, N.Y., for example, officials last month banned unvaccinated children from public places in an effort to stop the transmission of measles, though a state judge later halted that policy. [Rockland officials then banned](http://time.com/5558943/rockland-county-measles-emergency/) individuals with diagnosed measles from visiting public places. And in New York City, officials ordered residents in certain zip codes [to get vaccinated against measles](http://time.com/5567422/mandatory-vaccination-legal-ethics/) or face fines up to $1,000. ## Transcript I'm Jeffrey Kluger, editor at large, for TIME magazine and I'm here to argue the hard truth that vaccines are safe, effective, and save lives, full stop. [ MUSIC ] There are people who disagree with those facts, who believe that vaccines are unsafe. Unnecessary and that their dangers are being covered up by a conspiracy of silence between the pharmaceutical industry and the government. Non of these, not a syllable of it is true, here is why. First of all, it bears repeating. Vaccines do not cause autism. They never have, they never will. That initial misconception was traced to a fraudulent 1998 study by British doctor Andrew Wakefield. The study as later retracted and Wakefield was stripped of his license to practice medicine in the UK. It is true that autism rates have risen in recent decades, but that's not because more children are developing the condition It's simply because we're diagnosing it better, more sensitively and more liberally. vaccines like all drugs have potential side effects. And as with all drugs, nobody is hiding those side effects. The centers for disease control lists all possible side effects of all possible vaccines readily on it's web site. Most of those side effects are minor. The few that aren't are so rare that it's not even possible to link them conclusively to the vaccines. One other thing no one's hiding are the ingredients in vaccines. All of the package inserts for all vaccines are also readily available online. If you read the packaging search you will see that yes vaccines are stuffed with chemicals. All medications are stuffed with chemicals all foods are made of chemicals. You and I are made of chemicals. Chemicals are essential for life. They do not have to be bad. If generations of medical history have taught us anything, it's that vaccinating children does not lead to illness and death. It's not vaccinating children that does that. Parents who opt out of vaccines do it out of love. Do it because they think that's the best way to protect their children. But that protection comes from vaccinating, not from opting out of vaccines. 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