The Resurgence of Measles in the United States | CommonHealth Live!

About this episode

The episode discusses the resurgence of measles and pertussis in the United States, exploring the implications for health security and immunization efforts.

Since January 2025, the United States has confirmed more than 3,000 cases of measles across multiple states - with South Carolina reporting nearly 1000 cases in just the first two months of 2026. The economic costs of these outbreaks pose a burden to local and state health agencies through hospitalizations, surveillance, and contact tracing, among other measures. Cases of pertussis are similarly high, with nearly 30,000 cases in 2025. Immunization coverage has stalled, and data indicate a rising trend of non-medical exemptions in states throughout the country. What is driving the resurgence of some vaccine-preventable diseases in the United States? Are we heading into a future of endemic measles, pertussis, and other disease outbreaks? How do the domestic outbreaks connect to global issues around immunization coverage and health security? Listen to the recent CSIS Bipartisan Alliance for Global Health Security broadcast conversation with Katherine E. Bliss, Senior Fellow and Director, Immunizations and Health Systems Resilience, with the CSIS Global Health Policy Center and J. Stephen Morrison, Senior Vice President and Director, CSIS Global Health Policy Center, regarding the…

People in this episode

Guests: Katherine E. Bliss, J. Stephen Morrison

Topics covered

• measles
• pertussis
• vaccination
• health security
• immunization

Keywords

• disease outbreaks
• economic costs
• non-medical exemptions
• global health

Mentioned in this episode

Places: the United States, South Carolina

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