US Potential Loss of Measles Elimination Status Underscores Consequences of Interference in Science

"The measles outbreak makes the devastating consequences of this political interference clear," UCS' Center for Science and Democracy Analyst Jules Barbati-Dajches said. "When public health agencies do not communicate clearly about disease risks, support evidence-based vaccination strategies, and ensure that the public has access to accurate scientific information, the results can be fatal."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have recorded 5,182 measles cases so far in 2026 - more than double the number recorded in 2025. Most cases are among people who have not been vaccinated for measles. Of the eight people who died from measles or related complications in the last year, four were infants. Three deaths were reported this month, demonstrating the escalating and dire nature of this outbreak.

Over the past two years, the Trump administration has systematically undermined federal vaccine science-disregarding the scientific evidence supporting vaccine safety and efficacy, interfering in federal public health agencies' scientific work and weakening the public's access to reliable vaccine information. Last year, the administration fired all 17 members of the CDC's expert panel that reviews data on vaccines and issues guidance to protect the public. The administration has also interfered with research, cancelled research grants-including those related to vaccine safety and access-and elevated disinformation and pseudoscience that is actively harming children. And it has weakened the CDC by significantly reducing the agency's workforce, limiting data collection and withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization.

The Trump administration's erosion of federal vaccine science has occurred alongside broader subversion of science across the federal government. As of November 2026, UCS documented 624 attacks on science that occurred under the second Trump administration, including political interference in federal research, suppression of scientific publications, and efforts to undermine independent science.

As people in the United States lose their lives and the country faces the potential loss of its measles elimination status, the need for the Scientific Integrity Act to support independent, evidence-based public health leadership is more urgent than ever.

More information:

• Blog: The Trump Administration's Assault on Vaccines Endangers Us All, Dr. Jules Barbati-Dajches
• Blog: One Year in, The Anti-Science Agenda of the Trump Administration is Evident, Dr. Jules, Barbati-Dajches
• Blog: Divide and Destroy: A New Year of the Trump Administration's Authoritarianism, Dr. Jennifer Jones
• Blog: Robert F. Kennedy is Unfit to Lead US Public Health Agencies, Darya Minovi