Rise in measles cases prompts calls for vaccine vigilance

In just two years, measles has gone from a disease that was technically eliminated in the United States to one that is causing outbreaks, hospitalizations and case numbers not seen since the early 1990s.

This week’s announcement that an infant from upstate Lewis County died after contracting the disease — the state’s first measles death in three decades — has driven home that point in a heartbreaking way.

Nationally, there have been 4,852 confirmed cases of measles so far this year. There were 2,289 in 2025 and 285 in 2024. Experts said the rise can be attributed to several factors, including a drop in vaccinations and outbreaks in undervaccinated communities.

The last time case numbers were this high was the years of 1990 (27,808 cases) and 1991 (9,643 cases), after which cases dropped dramatically as more children were given the newly recommended second dose of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.

Infectious disease experts said Long Island does not face any immediate danger from the resurgence of measles, but they worry about public sentiment and misinformation that may be leading more people to reject or delay the MMR vaccine for their children.

"We don't have a measles outbreak on Long Island," said Dr. Bruce Farber, chief of public health and epidemiology at Northwell Health. "We have had a couple of sporadic cases, most of which have come from other areas. So there's no alarm for the public."

In New York, excluding New York City, the number of cases has risen from 15 in 2024 to 48 in 2025 to 210 so far in 2026. Most of this year’s cases are clustered in rural upstate counties.

Long Island has had four cases of measles since 2024. Last month, an individual over the age of 50 from Nassau County tested positive. Earlier in the year, an unvaccinated child from Nassau also tested positive for measles.

There was one case in Suffolk County in 2025 and one in Nassau in 2024. Both were young, unvaccinated children.

Farber said requiring vaccinations for school entry, and making it difficult to receive an exemption for that rule, has worked well.

"We need to continue that," Farber said. "Minor changes in vaccination rates can lead to outbreaks."

About 82% of children on Long Island have received one dose of the MMR vaccine by 2 years of age. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that is about 93% effective against measles. 

The infant who died after contracting measles was just 7 months old and too young to receive their first vaccine. Lewis County officials confirmed the child was part of an Amish family. Amish families traditionally do not get vaccinations.

"The loss of a child at any age is devastating to a family ... so we don’t start with finger-pointing," said Dr. Sharon Nachman, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at Stony Brook Medicine. "We need to be very nonjudgmental and tell people who are following these unscientific comments about vaccines that they are just not true statements."

"The only way to stop measles from spreading family to family, person to person, community to community, is by vaccinating all of those at risk," Nachman said. "There is no other way. There’s no magic pill."

Measles travels in the air and is so contagious, it can remain in a room for hours after an infected person has left.

"If a child has measles and they've been in an exam room, we close that room for over two hours," Nachman said.

The CDC recommends that children receive their first dose of the MMR vaccine between the ages of 12 and 15 months and a second dose between the ages of 4 and 6. They must be fully vaccinated before starting school.

Nachman discouraged parents from trying to space out their child’s MMR vaccinations or waiting until they start school, when the shots are required for admission.

"You're not keeping them at home in a bubble," she said. "They’re going to the local libraries, places and events, and you’re exposing them, potentially. By waiting to vaccinate, you are putting them at high risk for all that time before they go to school."

By Lisa L. Colangelo

lisa.colangelo@newsday.com@lisalcolangelo

Lisa joined Newsday as a staff writer in 2019. She previously worked at amNewYork, the New York Daily News and the Asbury Park Press covering politics, government and general assignment.