The highly contagious disease was eliminated in America in 2002. In Pennsylvania, five people have died this year, and new cases are popping up by the dozens. Neighboring states are bracing for the worst.
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Molly Anderson: This is WAMC’s Northeast Notebook. I’m Molly Anderson. Measles is back. We have the highest number of cases in 35 years.
Brandon Greene: Otsego County went decades without a measles case and, since August, we’ve had I believe 21 confirmed cases all in people who haven’t been vaccinated.
Molly Anderson: The highly contagious disease was eliminated from America in 2002. But falling vaccination rates have it spreading again. In Pennsylvania, five people have died this year, and new cases are popping up by the dozens. Amish communities are being particularly hard-hit. And neighboring states are bracing for the worst.
Samantha Picking: In the first week of October, and just looking at October versus last year, we’ve actually seen a 60% increase in MMR vaccines in New York.
Molly Anderson: So, is this outbreak pushing vaccine skeptics to doctor's offices?
Eric Yager: There always were a few cases in the U.S. and they tended to be usually travel-related. So, individuals coming from other countries would bring measles in, and when the vaccine levels were high enough, that could contain the virus from spreading.
Molly Anderson: Dr. Eric Yager is an associate professor at the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. He studies viruses, including measles.
Eric Yager: But since the vaccination levels are low in certain communities - they tend to be rural - there are certain pockets where vaccination rates have declined, and it's this important threshold that we have to maintain to be protected as a community. And when it drops just a bit, then the virus can start to spread.
Molly Anderson: New York Governor Hochul cited 977 cases in rural Pennsylvania counties. That was October 2nd. A day later, 108 cases of measles were reported in neighboring New York. Both of those stats are from her emergency executive order on the measles outbreak.
Danielle Wales: Last year was a pretty bad year for measles, but it turns out 2026 is even worse.
Molly Anderson: Dr. Danielle Wales is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Albany College of Integrated Health Sciences. She’s also an Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Physician.
Danielle Wales: And we're specifically seeing this in areas where there are pockets of unvaccinated patients. Measles cases have been accelerating rapidly in Pennsylvania right now, which is right in our back door.
Molly Anderson: Measles cases are up nationwide. The CDC says that in the first week of October last year there were 2,289 cases compared to 4,080 cases this year.
Danielle Wales: We’re starting to see cases of measles rise in New York State, and this executive order is going to allow county health departments to respond to cases of measles, it's also going to allow better access for folks who want to get themselves or their children vaccinated by expanding the number of providers that can give the vaccine.
Molly Anderson: While measles is easily spread from person to person, it's highly preventable through vaccination.
Samantha Picking: Previously we could only vaccinate patients ages 18 and over, but now we are able to offer MMR vaccination in the state of New York to patients three years and up.
Molly Anderson: Samantha Picking is a pharmacist and the Senior Immunizations Director at Walgreens. She says during the outbreak, there's been an increase in New Yorkers seeking the vaccine.
Samantha Picking: In the first week of October and just looking at October versus last year, we’ve actually seen a 60% increase in MMR vaccines in New York.
Molly Anderson: And though New York has fewer cases than neighboring Pennsylvania, Dr. Yager says there’s concern that the state’s case numbers will rise.
Eric Yager: Right now it seems to be located mostly, again looking at some of the data, kind of central, western New York and some of the rural counties, but it doesn't mean it's going to stay just there.
Danielle Wales: If someone walked into a room full of people with measles, at least 18 would get infected, and so when it spreads, it can really spread like wildfire.
Eric Yager: There was a Brady Bunch episode that made it seem like it wasn't a big deal. You know, the kids just got a sick day.
Molly Anderson: You might remember that episode. All six Brady kids get the measles. They play Monopoly and cheer not having to take any medicine or get any shots.
Danielle Wales: Measles - it's not just like the common cold. It's not something you just get over. It's something that can have lifelong consequences if you get it. Hard part about measles is it really leaves a lot of destruction.
Eric Yager: It can lead to secondary bacterial pneumonia. It can lead to hospitalization. It can cause hearing loss; it can be fatal. You know, there's sadly some cases of individuals passing away, and it can cause something serious called immune amnesia, which it can wipe out your immune system's memory. So again, you may be were protected against a disease because of vaccination or prior exposure, but the measles infection may wipe that away.
Danielle Wales: There's concern for a rare condition called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis which is when a child under the age of one - but it can happen to any unvaccinated child - gets measles, then they recover, but then within seven years they basically develop an inflammatory process in their brain that is almost uniformly fatal. It's rare but it's a really scary condition that unfortunately we've seen in this country in the last couple of years with the reemergence of measles. There was a case last year out in the west coast and that's especially hard because these kids weren't eligible to be vaccinated yet.
Molly Anderson: And one of the tricky things about measles is that it can be hard to diagnose.
Danielle Wales: I will say when measles first presents, it may look like a cold. People have runny nose, red eyes. They don't get the rash first, and sometimes we can actually miss cases early on.
Molly Anderson: Measles can be a challenge to detect, but navigating information about it can make you feel like you've suddenly been sucked into a social media debate.
Danielle Wales: Parents are really surrounded by a lot of conflicting information right now, and to be honest, it's very hard for parents to find good sources of information when they pull up their phone and on social media they get bombarded by different opinions and viewpoints that may or may not be science based, and they're just being bombarded with this.
Molly Anderson: She says that one dose of the Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine is over 90% effective at providing immunity, and two doses is over 97% effective. But there are vulnerable people that are at risk of catching the airborne virus.
Danielle Wales: Those are the kids under the age of one year who aren't eligible for the vaccine yet. These are our patients whose immune system is weakened by chemotherapy or other medications that affect their immune system. We worry about our pregnant women too.
Molly Anderson: Most people are vaccinated after age one, and get a second dose around age four, according to Wales.
Danielle Wales: If you went to public school or college in New York State, more often than not, you are vaccinated. Our healthcare workers are all vaccinated, so most folks do actually have immunity against measles.
Molly Anderson: The U.S. eliminated measles about 25 years ago thanks to the effectiveness of the MMR vaccine. But now the disease has a foothold. Dr. Eric Yager says physicians in rural communities are learning to adapt.
Eric Yager: A small doctor's office in these rural counties, how do they deal with the outbreak, making sure it doesn't spread to the rest of their communities?
Brandon Greene: Otsego County went decades without a measles case and, since August, we’ve had I believe 21 confirmed cases all in people who haven’t been vaccinated.
Molly Anderson: Dr. Brandon Greene is a Pediatrician at Bassett Pediatrics in Cooperstown.
Brandon Greene: And so now it’s spreading through our community for the first time in many decades, which has us concerned.
Molly Anderson: Dr. Green doesn’t think it’s a coincidence that the rural central New York county is leading the state in the number of measles cases.
Brandon Greene: Rural areas’ access to healthcare in general is always a problem. Not just physical access, meaning that you’re miles, potentially hours from your primary care provider or healthcare in general, but being left out of the system in general. This is a new phenomenon for us. And so, we in our network are doing our best to lower the barriers to access. We have many clinics spread out through multiple counties surrounding Otsego County, and we have school-based health centers that are embedded into our local schools.
Molly Anderson: The current measles outbreak is alarming. But Dr. Danielle Wales says she thinks Americans are going to learn from the spread of a disease that was eliminated a quarter-century ago.
Danielle Wales: I think we're going to we're going to get stronger from this, and really emphasize the role of public health in protecting our children, and we'll get through this, and we're going to learn from this. This is a time where we can really take care of ourselves and take care of our communities.
Molly Anderson: Northeast Notebook is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. It was produced by me, Molly Anderson. Our Executive Producer is Lucas Willard. Our editor is Diane DeVore. Music by Eduardo Rivera. Consider subscribing to Northeast Notebook wherever you get your podcasts. And if you like the show, take a second to rate and review. It really does help others find us. Thanks for listening.
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