Measles skyrockets in the US but Trump declares war on vaccines

WashingtonMeasles, a virus that the United States had considered eradicated in 2000, is breaking contagion records in the country. With more than 2,300 people affected – and the count continues to grow – 2026 is already the worst year for contagions in two decades. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), between 93% and 94% of individuals who have contracted measles were not vaccinated, or there was no record of them being so. But who the White House has decided to declare war on is not the disease, but the vaccines.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on August 10 to reduce recommended vaccines for children and thus make reality the anti-vaccine agenda of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Earlier this year, the head of Health already tried to modify childhood vaccination guidelines by reducing the stipulated injections from seventeen to eleven. But a judge blocked the initiative after the American Academy of Pediatrics and other health groups brought the case to court.

Last week, Trump signed a very similar decree, which reduces the complete vaccines for children from seventeen to six and establishes that the combined measles, rubella, and mumps vaccine (known as MMR) must be divided into three different injections. During the signing of the decree, both the leader and his Health Secretary insisted on linking the MMR to autism, even though there is no scientific study to prove it. On the contrary, numerous investigations support the safety of the MMR and deny the claims of the magnate, who assures that the combined vaccine is dangerous. "Together, there is a possibility that they are quite lethal," he said.

Recently, the Republican also asked pregnant women not to take paracetamol – known in the US under the brand Tylenol – during gestation, because it could supposedly cause autism in the baby. Another claim that is also not proven by scientific studies.

The majority of cases, minors

Although the decree is not binding, because those who have the competence to set public health guidelines are the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – and not the White House – the measure only fuels distrust towards vaccines at a particularly delicate moment regarding measles. Between 67% and 74% of cases registered by the CDC during 2026 correspond to minors under 19 years of age, among whom children under five years old represent 20% of the total cases. Last year the US registered three deaths due to measles, two of which were children.Furthermore, the contagion hotspots are concentrated in very specific areas. In South Carolina, the largest outbreak is in Spartanburg County: it began in 2025 and has not been contained since. Of the more than 2,300 cases diagnosed this year, more than 670 are linked to this district. Utah is in a similar situation, with an outbreak that began this year and continues to spread, with 524 cases registered. The CDC has noted that these contagion hotspots occur precisely in communities where the MMR injection rate has fallen below the threshold necessary to achieve herd immunity.

An exhaustive survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) and published in the Washington Post in September 2025 provided more details on this increase in vaccine distrust. American parents who chose not to vaccinate their children or to postpone vaccination typically homeschooled them, were white, highly religious, and identified as Republicans, or were under 35 years of age, according to the poll. 9% of respondents admitted they had not administered the polio or MMR vaccine to their children. In fact, the study concluded that all of this could lead to large outbreaks.

More difficulty vaccinating

Trump's decree not only seeks to discourage childhood vaccination, but also foresees guidelines that make it more difficult for families to vaccinate their children. To begin with, dividing the MMR into three different injections means going to the doctor more often and, consequently, having to pay more, as each visit must be paid for.

Beyond the MMR, six vaccines will be categorized as "object of shared clinical decision-making." This means that, as they will be optional, they could fall outside of medical insurance coverage. Specifically, these are the vaccines for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, rotavirus, meningococcal disease, flu, and covid-19.

Despite the clear anti-vaccine message, Kennedy has repeatedly denied being responsible for the measles outbreak plaguing the country. The Secretary of Health, who last week again suggested that the MMR vaccine is related to autism, attributes to "global health conditions" and the will of religious communities the fact that more and more people do not want to be vaccinated.