Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), urged Americans to get vaccinated against measles during an interview with Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“Should people fear measles?” Bash asked.
“Oh, for sure,” Oz replied. “We are pretty aggressive at CMS. We fund any vaccine you want to take. There will never be a barrier to Americans getting access to the measles vaccine.”
“Take the vaccine, please,” Oz added. “We have a solution for our problem. Not all illnesses are equally dangerous, and not all people are equally susceptible to those illnesses. But measles is one you should get your vaccine.”
As of Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed 733 measles cases in the U.S. this year. Three percent of those individuals have been hospitalized, while 95 percent of those who contracted measles were unvaccinated.
Arizona, South Carolina, and Utah are experiencing outbreaks dating back to last year, with those states reporting a combined total of 1,410 cases.
Nearly 30 percent of measles cases this year have been found in children younger than 5, with more than half among individuals aged 5 to 19, according to the CDC.
Last year, the CDC confirmed 2,276 measles cases nationwide, with 11 percent resulting in hospitalizations. This marked the highest number of cases since measles was declared eliminated at the turn of the century.
The United States reached 12 consecutive months of measles transmission in January, meeting a key condition for losing its elimination status.
Dr. Ralph Abraham, CDC’s principal deputy director, stated that vaccination against measles does not guarantee immunity. This statement followed the agency’s report on a measles outbreak in Colorado that began with an unvaccinated individual who arrived in Denver via international flight during May-June 2025.
The outbreak led to infections among 10 people — nine secondary cases (those who had direct contact with the infected person) and one tertiary case (resulting from contact with a secondary case). Of the secondary cases, four individuals had received two doses of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine prior to exposure. All recovered.
The CDC noted that although vaccinated individuals are at low risk of acquiring measles, breakthrough infections can still occur.
