The Americas are on the brink of losing their measles-free status as renewed outbreaks surge across Canada, Mexico, and the United States, health officials warned Monday. The region, which had only recently regained that status in 2024, now faces a rollback unless transmission is halted.
Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, head of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), told Reuters that all three countries risk missing the deadlines for elimination. For Canada, the 12-month countdown ends in October. For the U.S., it’s January; for Mexico, February. At stake is not just a label, but trust in immunization programs and the protection of vulnerable communities.
So far this year, over 5,000 measles cases have been confirmed in Canada alone, including two fatalities. Most recently, a newborn in Alberta died, underscoring how fragile the gains have become. In the U.S. and Mexico, health authorities have also reported thousands of cases and a handful of deaths.
The root cause is falling vaccination rates. For measles elimination to be robust, 95 percent of a population needs full immunization coverage. Canada currently has 92 percent coverage for the first dose but only 79 percent for the second. That gap has left communities vulnerable to outbreaks, especially with cross-border travel resuming across the region.
Dr. Barbosa cautioned that misinformation, policy shifts, and vaccine hesitancy are fueling the problem. While he declined to single out specific countries, he emphasized that “we need to stick to the science and the evidence,” asserting that there is no link between vaccines and autism — a claim some vaccine skeptics have pushed.
In the U.S., the issue has become tangled with recent changes in vaccine policy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has pulled its broad support for a universal COVID-19 shot and instead recommended using it based on shared decision-making with a healthcare provider. That move came after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s handpicked advisory panel recommended separating varicella (chickenpox) vaccination from the combined measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) shot before age 4. Some medical experts fear this erosion in unified vaccine schedules might further fuel confusion and distrust among parents.
Across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, health systems are scrambling. Clinics in underserved areas are stretched thin, often lacking outreach capacity to recapture unvaccinated children. In border towns, families hop between jurisdictions, complicating tracking and containment efforts. Some children who missed routine shots during the COVID-19 pandemic remain unprotected. The result is a tinderbox waiting for sparks.
In interviews with Reuters, local pediatricians in Canada expressed frustration and urgency. One doctor said, “We are seeing cases in school settings again — places where we thought measles would never return. Every missed vaccination now is a risk to a child’s life and the community.” Reuters A public health official in Mexico noted that in some rural areas, access, mistrust, and logistical hurdles make vaccine delivery uneven. With cold chain demands and limited personnel, outbreak control is proving difficult.
The consequences of losing measles-free status are more than symbolic. It would signal to the world that even regions with strong health systems are vulnerable to backsliding when immunization coverage slips. It would also hamper regional collaboration and funding for vaccine programs, precisely when those supports are most needed.
PAHO is pushing governments to launch urgent “catch-up” campaigns, increase public education, and reestablish confidence in vaccines. The stakes, Dr. Barbosa warned, go beyond numbers. “We risk reversing decades of progress,” he said.
As the Americas stand at this crossroads, the human cost is already being paid — from lost lives to shattered trust. If immunization doesn’t regain momentum, history may look back on this moment as a turning point — not just in disease control but in the fragility of public health itself.
Source: Reuters
