U.S. Measles Cases Rise Nationwide: Should We Worry In IL?

ACROSS ILLINOIS — Health officials and experts are keeping an eye on a rapidly spreading outbreak of measles, one of the most contagious viral diseases in the world. How worried should Illinoisans be?

So far this year, no cases of measles have been reported in Illinois, according to the latest surveillance report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's good news for the state following 2024, when Illinois saw the second-highest number of measles cases compared to the rest of the U.S., with 67 total cases that year.

Measles can spread quickly in unvaccinated populations, which appears to be the case in western Texas, where there were 58 confirmed measles cases as of Tuesday, including 13 requiring hospitalization. The number of cases in Texas is up from 24 on Feb. 11. All but 13 of the cases are in Gaines County, which borders Lea County in New Mexico, where eight new measles cases have been reported.

Below are five things Illinoisans need to know about the current outbreaks and other pertinent facts about measles.

‘Herd Immunity’ Varies Within States

The Texas outbreak, the state’s largest in nearly 30 years, has been concentrated in a “close-knit, undervaccinated” Mennonite community, especially among families who attend private religious schools or are homeschooled, Texas Department of State Health Services spokeswoman Lara Anton said last week.

About 94.3 percent of kindergarteners attending Texas public schools were vaccinated against the measles in the 2023-24 school year. Only about a dozen other states reported higher vaccine coverage, according to the CDC data.

In communities with high vaccination rates — above 95 percent — diseases like measles have a harder time spreading through communities. This is called “herd immunity.”

Vaccine coverage may vary greatly at the local level, and pockets of unvaccinated people can exist in states with high vaccination coverage, according to the CDC, which noted that when measles gets into communities of unvaccinated people in the United States, outbreaks can occur.

However, Gaines County has one of the highest rates in Texas of school-aged children who opt out of at least one required vaccine, with nearly 14 percent of K-12 children in the 2023-24 school year. Health officials say that number is likely higher because it doesn't include many children who are homeschooled and whose data would not be reported.

So, how close are we to herd immunity in Illinois?

About 91.6 percent of Illinois kindergarteners were vaccinated in the 2023-24 school year, according to the latest data available from the CDC.

Did Texas Outbreak Jump State Lines?

Health officials don’t think so.

New Mexico state health department spokesman Robert Nott said Tuesday the agency hadn’t “identified any direct contact” between cases in New Mexico and those in Texas.

The people with measles include a family of five who are in isolation and none of those who have gotten measles have required hospitalization. Six of those who have gotten sick in New Mexico were not vaccinated.

They may have been exposed at a grocery store, an elementary school, a church, Nor-Lea Hospital and a Walgreens in Hobbs, according to health department spokesman Robert Nott.

What Is Measles?

Measles is a respiratory virus that can survive in the air for up to two hours. Up to 9 out of 10 people who are susceptible will get the virus if exposed, according to the CDC.

Most kids will recover from the measles if they get it, but infection can lead to dangerous complications like pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.

Is The Vaccine Safe?

Yes, the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is safe and highly effective in preventing measles infection and severe cases of the disease.

The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old. The vaccine series is required for kids before entering kindergarten in public schools nationwide.

Before the vaccine was introduced in 1963, the U.S. saw some 3 million to 4 million cases per year. Now, it's usually fewer than 200 in a normal year.
There is no link between the vaccine and autism, despite a now-discredited study and health disinformation.

But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic and more parents are claiming religious or personal conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots.

The U.S. saw a rise in measles cases in 2024, including an outbreak in Chicago that sickened more than 60. Five years earlier, measles cases were the worst in almost three decades in 2019.

Will Vaccine Schedule Change?

That’s unclear. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday vowed to investigate the childhood vaccine schedule that prevents measles, polio and other dangerous diseases, despite a promise during his confirmation hearing that he would not change it.

“Nothing is going to be off limits,” Kennedy said in his first public comment since his confirmation. A new“Make America Healthy Again” commission would investigate vaccines, pesticides and antidepressants to see if they have contributed to a rise in chronic illnesses such as diabetes and obesity that have plagued the American public.

• Related: Kennedy Says Panel Will Review Childhood Vaccine Schedule After Promising Not To Change It

Kennedy said the panel, formed by executive order, will develop a strategy around children’s health within the next six months. Kennedy said it will investigate issues, including childhood vaccinations, that “were formally taboo or insufficiently scrutinized.”

The Associated Press contributed reporting.

MORE ON PATCH

• Measles Cases Spike: IL Has Highest Case Count In U.S.
• Largest IL Measles Outbreak Since 1990 Contained: Health Officials
• Measles Cases Grow To 67 In Chicago, Suburban Cook County
• Measles Reported In IL, 16 Other States In Global Uptick: CDC Advisory