The measles vaccination coverage appears to be increasing in certain U.S. outbreaks regions this year. The United States has reported at least 378 confirmed measles cases in 2025.
According to the CDC, people should receive two doses of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine: the first between 12 and 15 months of age, and the second between 4 and 6 years old. The CDC reports that one dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective.
Most of the 378 measles cases confirmed by the CDC this year have been among people who are either unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown.
As per the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), an outbreak has infected 327 people in western Texas. Out of these cases only two cases were of people who were fully vaccinated with the MMR vaccine. Health organizations have been urging those who are unvaccinated to get the MMR vaccine or to catch up on any missed doses.
At least 173,362 MMR vaccine doses have been administered across the state of Texas as of March 16 this year, more than in the same period since at least 2020.
According to DSHS data, western Texas’s Lubbock County has had 10 measles cases this year. Vaccination numbers have risen though, according to Katherine Wells, Lubbock’s public health director, although the county is not at the epicenter of the outbreak.
The vaccines are free and health officials have been promoting them through social media and local news outlets, according to Wells.
This outbreak will unfortunately take time to manage because some people still resist getting vaccinated, according to Tammy Camp, a Texas pediatrician.
On March 7, the CDC released a health advisory that the risk of widespread measles in the U.S. remains low. According to Diego Hijano, an infectious disease expert at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, the CDC is correct; many areas still have high vaccination rates.