By Yasmeen Abutaleb
WASHINGTON, Nov 10 (Reuters) – The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will not fundamentally change its response to measles outbreaks even if the US loses its measles elimination status this month, CDC Director Dr Erica Schwartz told Reuters on Tuesday.
Global health experts convened by the Pan American Health Organization will determine in the coming days whether the US has lost its official measles-free status, a hard-won public health achievement it has held since 2000.
Many disease experts say that is likely to be the case as the country battles the highest number of infections in more than three decades. Thousands of Americans have contracted measles since early 2025, when the Trump administration took office.
Schwartz said she expected a PAHO decision by early next week.
“Let’s say we did lose our measles elimination status. We’re going to be doing the same exact thing that we’ve been doing today, which is working with the states,” Schwartz said in an interview.
The CDC will make sure “we are leaning in to help them provide awareness about measles, emphasizing, reemphasizing that the number one way to prevent measles is the MMR (combined measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine,” she said.
Schwartz, confirmed as CDC director in August, inherited a raging measles outbreak that has worsened since last year. There have been nearly 5,200 confirmed cases in 2026 — compared to 2,289 for all of 2025 — and 11 deaths reported by state health departments since early last year.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who oversees the CDC as well as other health agencies, has for years cast doubt on the safety and efficacy of the MMR vaccine. As the nation’s top health official, he has sought to reduce the number of childhood immunizations. Medical experts have said his rhetoric and actions have fueled falling vaccination rates.
Schwartz pointed to “closely knit communities” as the primary source of US measles infection. Several outbreaks have originated among religious groups where vaccination rates are lower than in the general population, including the Amish in Pennsylvania.
“These communities typically don’t vaccinate their children… their families were making decisions about the MMR vaccine 20 to 30 years ago and we’re just now seeing the results of those decisions,” Schwartz said. “The real focus is why are we not leaning in on these close-knit communities to make sure that they understand that the number one way of preventing measles is the MMR vaccine.”
In August, shortly after Schwartz was confirmed, President Donald Trump and Kennedy unveiled an executive order that called for breaking up the MMR vaccine into three separate shots. Pharmaceutical companies said that could take years, while doctors said it would sow more confusion among families.
Schwartz also pushed back on reports that suggested Kennedy and his top deputies had applied pressure on her or the agency. She said she is in communication with Kennedy every day.
“What has been very clear to me is that the secretary has recognized that I am the director of the CDC, and these decisions and the focus of where we’re going with the CDC rests on my shoulders,” Schwartz said. “At the end of the day, he recognizes that the reason why I’m sitting in this chair is because the CDC needs a leader.”
(Reporting by Yasmeen Abutaleb; Editing by Michele Gershberg and Nia Williams)
