There have now been more measles cases in 2025 than in any other year since the contagious virus was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, according to new data released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The grim milestone represents an alarming setback for the country’s public health and heightens concerns that if childhood vaccination rates do not improve, deadly outbreaks of measles — once considered a disease of the past — will become the new normal.

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(TNND) — The U.S. has managed to keep a lid on measles for a quarter of a century.

That’s now at risk.

Johns Hopkins’ Center for Outbreak Response Innovation reports 1,277 confirmed cases of measles so far this year, which eclipsed 2019 to become the highest annual total since measles was declared eliminated in 2000.

And we have half the year left.

“We're deeply worried about it,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, the director of Brown University's Pandemic Center.

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I don’t know exactly when I was infected with Ebola. As a doctor in a treatment center in Guinea in 2014, I faced hundreds of potential exposures during the outbreak there.

If I had to guess, the virus probably breached my protective gear while my colleagues and I cared for a young woman in the final moments of her battle with the disease. Each time she vomited or soiled herself, we changed her linens, gently laying her listless body back onto clean, burgundy floral sheets. I knew this ritual wouldn’t save her life. I also knew it carried substantial personal risk. But I refused to let her die without dignity. I know there are many who would do the same.

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Key takeaways:
The U.S. is pulling funding from Gavi, claiming the alliance neglected vaccine safety data.
Experts said the decision is not actually about safety but about casting doubt on vaccines.

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As secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made it his mission to “make America healthy again.” Yet so far—and you may want to sit down for this—it appears that Worm Guy’s actions, and those of the Trump administration, are at odds with that goal. And by “at odds” we mean they’ve done a whole bunch of stuff that may actually make the people of this country very sick. Sure, Kennedy is pushing to phase out artificial food dyes, but he‘s also undermining life-saving vaccines and spreading misinformation about medications that some people require to get out of bed in the morning—to say nothing of the fake studies in his big report on children’s health. Meanwhile, the Trump administration also wants to keep some forever chemicals linked to cancer in the drinking water, has refused to allow coal plants to close, and obliterated scientific research—the kind that makes breakthroughs and finds cures for diseases.

A running list of the not-so-healthy moves by Kennedy and Trump include:

Rachel Feltman: For Scientific American’s Science Quickly, I’m Rachel Feltman. This is the final episode of our three-part series on bird flu.

(You can listen to episode one here and episode two here.)

On Wednesday we met scientists who are getting their hands dirty with dairy cows and poultry to better understand how H5N1 bird flu is spreading. Today we’ll take a look at efforts to create vaccines for H5N1—and learn why eggs are so critical to the vaccine-making process.

Our host today is Naeem Amarsy, a multimedia journalist based in New York City. Here’s Naeem now.

Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. says the U.S. will stop funding GAVI due to safety concerns. GAVI is a public-private partnership that vaccinates children in some of the poorest countries. The group has pushed back on the criticism.

Here & Now’s Asma Khalid learns more about the implications with Seth Berkley, the former CEO of GAVI, who is now a senior advisor to the Brown University School of Public Health Pandemic Center.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee is set to meet this week for the first time since Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed all of its sitting members and appointed new ones.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is expected to vote on vaccine recommendations for the fall as well as discuss other vaccines, including those given to children. The group wields enormous influence setting vaccine policy in the United States, including which vaccines will be covered by insurance.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's vaccine advisory committee is set to meet for the first time since Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed the entire panel and appointed his own hand-selected members.

Earlier this month, Kennedy removed all 17 sitting members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and appointed eight new members, some of whom have been critics of shots -- especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ACIP will meet on Wednesday, June 25, and Thursday, June 26, to review scientific data on some vaccines and vote on some fall recommendations.

Jen Nuzzo joins 12 News Anchor Kayla Fish to talk about the school's new Tracking Report for Measles, COVID-19 and other outbreaks affecting the globe

Amid controversial dismissals for independent advisers and staff at health agencies, alongside lackluster responses to the bird flu and measles outbreaks, experts fear the US is now in worse shape to respond to a pandemic than before 2020.

H5N1, which has received less attention under the Trump administration than from Biden’s team, is not the only influenza virus or even the only variant of bird flu with the potential to spark a pandemic. But a subpar response to the ongoing US outbreak signals a larger issue: America is not ready for whatever pathogen will sweep through next.

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