The US could lose measles elimination status. Vaccine policy is fueling the chaos.

The nation’s vaccine policy system is in turmoil. Last week, a federal judge ruled that the government acted unlawfully in attempting to overhaul the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) — the expert panel that guides the U.S. childhood vaccination schedule — blocking the newly appointed members and forcing the cancellation of its scheduled meeting. 

This decision has created immediate uncertainty around the body that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on immunization policy. But the confusion surrounding the vaccine advisory committee is unfolding at the same time the United States is struggling to contain a resurgence of measles. After a surge of cases beginning in 2025 led to sustained community transmission in states including Texas and South Carolina, the country is now on the brink of losing measles elimination status. 

Measles was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000: a significant milestone achieved through high vaccination coverage that prevented continuous spread of one of the most contagious viruses known. For more than two decades, measles became so rare that most physicians never encountered a case. 

Outbreaks are now spreading widely, with more than 2,000 confirmed cases in 2025, and already more than 1,000 additional cases in 2026. In 2025, two children and one adult died from measles in the U.S. All were unvaccinated. Before these tragic deaths, the last recorded measles fatalities in the U.S. occurred in 2015, when cases remained rare and contained.  

Measles is not an isolated failure. It is the signal flare, a symptom of a larger and even more troubling problem. The U.S. public health system and the CDC are in crisis. The loss of measles elimination status could be our clearest warning yet of the risks to the American people when public health institutions are weakened and politicized. 

As career scientists and public health professionals, we joined CDC because we believed in its mission to issue timely, evidence-based health guidance, and because it represented the pinnacle of our field. We resigned because speaking plainly from the outside of the agency is now the most effective way we can serve the public. 

And we are not alone. Estimates from the National Public Health Coalition suggest that nearly 3,000 CDC staff left the agency through illegal firings, resignation or early retirement during 2025, with hundreds more voluntarily departing in the first two months of 2026. Leaving the federal agency ill-equipped to perform key functions of protecting the public from threats of infectious and chronic disease. 

What began as a routine transition of power has become sustained political interference. Decisions once guided by scientific evidence are now shaped by political priorities. The translation of data into action is subject to political delays, edits and vetoes. Career scientists have been replaced or sidelined, and health communication has been supplanted by overt political messaging. The consequences have never been more visible than the resurgence of measles. 

When scientists are sidelined, experts replaced with politically aligned advisors, and disease surveillance systems weakened, the outcome is that outbreaks spread farther and last longer. When scientists are sidelined, experts are dismissed and replaced with politically aligned advisors and disease surveillance systems are weakened, outbreaks spread farther and last longer. Guidance arrives late or becomes inconsistent. Public trust erodes and vaccine coverage declines.

Government-directed censorship of research on health disparities and the removal of health equity resources also limits outreach to populations at highest risk of poor outcomes. We cannot protect populations that we are not allowed to name or study.   

Within CDC, layoffs, budget cuts and the removal of flexible work policies have destabilized teams and driven out expertise that cannot be quickly replaced, while taking a serious physical and psychological toll on the remaining workforce. A culture of fear has taken hold, where questioning politically motivated directives carries professional risk. The result is an agency less capable of early detection, clear communications and decisive response. 

Unless this is addressed, measles is just the beginning. Cases of whooping cough and mumps are already rising. The reemergence of polio, with its risk of paralysis and lifelong disability, is no longer unthinkable. The erosion of public health capacity also threatens chronic disease, including Alzheimer’s research, injury prevention and maternal and child health, with consequences that will unfold for decades.   

The current turmoil surrounding ACIP illustrates how fragile the nation’s vaccine infrastructure has become. For decades, its independent scientific review process has helped ensure that immunization policy reflects the best available evidence. When that process is disrupted, the consequences ripple far beyond a single advisory meeting. They affect the credibility of vaccine guidance and the stability of the entire immunization system. 

However, this trajectory is not inevitable. CDC still has dedicated staff who must be allowed to do their work free from political interference. Americans can demand better by holding their leaders accountable, supporting evidence-based public health, relying on trusted medical providers for guidance and keeping themselves, their families and their communities vaccinated.  

The events surrounding ACIP make clear that the institutions responsible for safeguarding public health are themselves under strain. Restoring their independence and stability is essential not only to controlling measles outbreaks today but also to preventing the return of other vaccine-preventable diseases tomorrow. 

Katie D. Schenk, MSc Ph.D. is a former health scientist/senior service fellow and Elizabeth A. Soda, MD is a former team lead/medical officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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