Utah becomes center of latest measles outbreak in US
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5867072-utah-measles-outbreak-2026/
Utah has become the latest epicenter for measles transmission in the U.S., going down a similar path to Texass outbreak last year, where a small under-vaccinated pocket within the state fueled widespread transmission.
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As of this week, the Utah Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed 441 cases of measles in 2026, more than twice the number of cases that were reported last year. This accounts for roughly a quarter of the 1,814 total cases that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have confirmed this year.
A significant portion of the measles cases have been linked to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), an insular, fundamentalist religious community in which vaccination rates have historically been low. Thats similar to the pattern in Texas, where a majority of initial cases in last years outbreak originated from a Mennonite community in the states western region.
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The situation has reached the point where the states health department is now recommending that parents consider an optional, early dose of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine for infants younger than one year.
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