Measles is making an unwelcome comeback in the United States, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is looking to avoid any responsibility for it.
In a recent edition of the Wall Street Journal, Ralph Abraham, assistant director of the CDC, aimed to make people question the way the government has been dealing with measles since last year. Abraham argued that the return of measles is not America’s fault because other countries have had similar outbreaks recently, too. Of course, Abraham did not mention that the public life of this country is now led by the man who openly fought the measles vaccine and other guns for decades, which is Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“To label measles as a failure of American policy is wrong and misleading,” Abraham wrote.
Running defense
Abraham is right to point out that measles is not just an American problem. There are many pockets of the world where viral disease remains. And countries like Canada, the UK, and others have experienced a recent resurgence of measles. But these facts do not absolve the US of its failure.
Since January 2025, measles has been spreading far and wide. Last year alone there were more than 2,220 cases, the highest annual number in more than three decades. There have been cases in 45 states and other areas, with most scattered in 49 separate outbreaks. The largest outbreak last year occurred in early January in parts of West Texas. However, it has now been replaced by an ongoing outbreak in South Carolina, with 847 cases and counting. Three people in the US have died from measles since 2025, and hundreds have been hospitalized. And the US is now on the verge of losing its official measles-free status.
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases in the world but it can be prevented with vaccines. And it’s the greatly reduced vaccination rate that has allowed measles to re-emerge in the US and elsewhere—not that the federal government under RFK Jr. he wishes to admit that.
In his editorial, Abraham even tried to cast doubt on the efficacy of measles vaccination. As evidence, he cites a recent report from Colorado health officials and the CDC about a measles outbreak last year linked to an airline passenger. Of the nine known cases linked to the first infected person, four were completely immunized, he said.
The measles vaccine is not foolproof, so there may be occasional cases of success (with the full series, it is about 97% effective). But even in this one outbreak, most of the cases are unvaccinated. And vaccination helped those who were infected. Vaccinated cases reported fewer and milder symptoms, while three unvaccinated cases and one person with unknown vaccination status ended up in hospital.
“This outbreak highlights the importance of staying up-to-date on recommended vaccinations, especially before travel,” the report’s authors concluded.
CDC data itself shows the importance of vaccination. About 93% of all measles cases recorded since last year occurred in people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown, while only 4% occurred in people who were vaccinated.
The RFK-shaped elephant in the room
Abraham says that under the leadership of RFK Jr., the US is now setting the global standard for public health. In some ways, that declaration is untrue given Kennedy’s record thus far.
Since last year, RFK Jr. and his allies have limited people’s access to certain vaccines. He also cut staff at the CDC and other health agencies, and fired senior officials who refused to support his anti-vaccination policies. And during a measles outbreak in Texas, he recommended an unproven treatment like cod liver oil that may have put some children at risk.
Last month, he succeeded in significantly shortening the vaccination program for children. And he has continued to install new ideological allies in high positions who want to undermine the principles. Abraham himself, who was recently appointed to his CDC position late last year, has a history of promoting vaccine skepticism during his previous tenure as Louisiana’s surgeon general.
The decline in vaccination rates for measles and other diseases certainly predates Kennedy’s rise to power, and this decline cannot be fully blamed on vaccinators (access to health care, especially in poor countries or rural parts of the US, is another factor). But nothing about the RFK Jr. era. public health that should inspire confidence in the country’s ability or willingness to take moles seriously.
