There was a widespread warning on Monday for kids to get vaccinated against measles after a child in Texas died last week from the illness — the first in the U.S. since 2015.
Numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show weekly cases of measles spiking nationwide in 2025 compared with the last couple of years. A local medical expert told us they declining rates of vaccination are being seen in some areas.
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"During the pandemic, due to difficulty with access and travel and disruption, rates started to decline, and that's only been fueled, unfortunately, by anti-vaccine sentiment," said Dr. Vandana Madhavan of Mass General Brigham.
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A map from the CDC shows no reported cases of measles in Massachusetts in 2025. There was one case in the Bay State last year.
"Would we see widespread outbreaks statewide? Thankfully not. But it is possible that if cases were introduced into a school setting or a community setting, where the local herd immunity rate was lower, we could see more outbreaks, even here in Massachusetts," Madhavan said.
Western Massachusetts and the islands off the state's coast have higher rates of unvaccinated kids with non-medical exemptions, health officials said.
"In the short term, measles can cause pneumonia, respiratory complications, can cause deafness," Madhavan said.
Overall, Massachusetts has one of the highest percentages of vaccination in the U.S., with about 96% of children vaccinated in the 2023-2024 school year.
