A sharp, sustained surge in measles infections across the Americas has spurred the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) to issue an urgent call for regional governments to ramp up immunization campaigns, as 2026 case counts have already outpaced the total number recorded across the entire previous year. The public health warning comes just ahead of the upcoming Americas Vaccination Week, scheduled to run from April 25 through May 2, an initiative that aims to deliver nearly 90 million vaccine doses across the region, including catch-up inoculations for more than 7.2 million children who have missed routine vaccinations.
PAHO Director Jarbas Barbosa acknowledged that the Americas has made landmark progress in public health immunization over recent decades: the region was the first in the world to successfully eliminate both polio and rubella, and overall routine vaccination coverage has now rebounded fully to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. Despite these wins, critical gaps in coverage leave the region vulnerable to preventable disease outbreaks. Data from 2024 shows that coverage for the first dose of the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine stood at 89%, while coverage for the required second dose reached only 79%. Coverage for diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus (DPT) vaccines hit 87% in the same year, but more than 1.4 million children in the region remain completely unvaccinated against all routine preventable diseases.
Measles represents the most pressing immediate public health threat, according to PAHO data. In 2025, nearly 14,800 confirmed measles cases were reported across 13 countries in the region—an over 30-fold increase compared to case counts recorded in 2024. This alarming upward trend has continued into 2026: by early April of this year, more than 15,300 cases had already been confirmed, surpassing the entire 2025 total before the year is even halfway over.
While the majority of global measles cases still occur outside the Americas, the region’s share of the global caseload is rising rapidly. In the first three months of 2026, the Americas accounted for 21% of all measles cases reported worldwide.
PAHO officials stress that measles is far from a harmless childhood illness. The viral infection can cause severe, life-altering complications including pneumonia, encephalitis, and permanent blindness, and can be fatal for vulnerable groups including young children and immunocompromised people. In 2025, roughly 13% of all confirmed measles patients in the region required hospital admission, and the overwhelming majority of these severe cases occurred among unvaccinated people.
Contrary to common assumptions, PAHO says the root of the current measles resurgence is not a lack of available vaccines, but persistent barriers to reaching unvaccinated populations. Multiple obstacles contribute to the gap: widespread misinformation about vaccine safety, low public perception of measles risk, and limited access to routine healthcare services in marginalized and underserved communities all keep vaccination coverage below the required threshold.
To stop ongoing outbreaks and prevent large-scale resurgence, PAHO emphasizes that regions need to maintain at least 95% coverage of two doses of measles-containing vaccine. Barbosa warned that even a single confirmed case can spark a widespread community outbreak if coverage falls below this critical threshold.
To support regional governments in addressing the crisis, PAHO is providing practical assistance including improved disease surveillance systems, rapid response support for active outbreaks, and expanded access to vaccines through joint regional procurement mechanisms. Barbosa framed the effort to eliminate measles as a collective public responsibility, noting that “Vaccination is not just an individual choice, it is an act of solidarity. We brought measles under control before, and we can do it again.”