Measles Update: February 20, 2026

Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported there were 982* cases of measles in the US as of February 19, 2026. This is up substantially from this time last week, when the federal agency reported there was 910* confirmed cases.¹ Week-over week, that is an additional 72 cases and a 7.9% increase. This marks a significant decrease in the number of cases from the previous week that saw 24.15% increase in cases the week ending (February 13).

In releasing its figures, CDC said there were 976 measles cases in 26 jurisdictions: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York City, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. A total of 6 measles cases were reported among international visitors to the US. (This number has stayed static for a number of weeks now.) ¹

The latest numbers show 2 more jurisdictions now have outbreaks compared to the previous week.

The federal agency reports “there have been 7 new outbreaks** reported in 2026, and 89% of confirmed cases (870 of 982) are outbreak-associated (73 from outbreaks in 2026 and 797 from outbreaks that started in 2025).” ¹

There are now 2 more outbreaks compared to the previous week.

In summary, there are fewer, new measles cases in actual numbers and the percentage of cases, but the number of outbreaks and jurisdictions affected have slightly increased from week-to-week.

Personnel Changes, Next ACIP Meeting

There are some personnel changes and events that could potentially influence vaccine policy in the near future. This week, there was a major leadership change at CDC. Jayanta "Jay" Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, was named acting director for the CDC. Prior to this appointment, Bhattacharya served as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) director. Bhattacharya replaces the former acting director of the CDC, Jim O’Neil.² There have also been reports further personnel changes are expected.

Back in 2020, Bhattacharya was a coauthor of the Great Barrington Declaration, which advocated for the barring of pandemic-response lockdown policies and resumption of in-person professional and recreational activities for younger, low-risk persons. Although Bhattacharya is serving within a Health and Human Services department that has viewed vaccines with skepticism and worked to change vaccine policy in the US, at a recent Senate hearing he did say, “I have not seen a study that suggests any single vaccine causes autism.” He also said that he did not believe the measles vaccine causes autism.

In addition to this significant personnel change, at the time of this posting, it was still up in the air if the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) was going to conduct its first meeting for 2026, which was scheduled for February 25-27. At least one report said the meeting will be delayed to mid-March. It remains to be seen what the ACIP plans to discuss in its next meeting.

*It is important to note that the CDC says on its website that the federal agency is aware of probable measles cases being reported by jurisdictions. However, the data on this page only include confirmed cases that jurisdictions notified the CDC about. Therefore, there could be higher numbers in the US overall.

**CDC reports the cumulative number of measles outbreaks (defined as 3 or more related cases) that have occurred this year in the US; states have the most up-to-date information about cases and outbreaks in their jurisdictions.

Contagion will continue to report weekly updates around the measles outbreak and gather commentary from vaccine experts, clinicians, and other interested stakeholders.

References

1.Measles Cases and Outbreaks. CDC. February 20, 2026. Accessed February 20, 2026.
https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html

2.Contagion editorial team. New Acting CDC Director Named. February 19, 2026. Accessed February 20, 2026.
https://publications.aap.org/aapnews/news/34124/2025-measles-cases-highest-since-1991?autologincheck=redirected