Florida surgeon general addresses rising measles cases as national totals surge, reaching record high
Measles cases break record
A historic resurgence of measles pushed national infection counts past 2,300 on Friday, surpassing total figures from 2025 and reaching levels not documented since 1991. FOX 13's Briona Arradondo reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - A historic resurgence of measles pushed national infection counts past 2,300 on Friday, surpassing total figures from 2025 and reaching levels not documented since 1991.
Nationwide measles outbreak
What we know:
Data released on Friday by the CDC shows 2,318 measles cases across the nation. The milestone makes seven months into 2026 the highest total since 1991, two years after health officials recommended both doses of the vaccine in 1989. Measles was officially declared eradicated from the Americas in 2000, maintaining low case numbers for more than two decades, according to Dr. Michael Teng, a virologist with USF Health in Tampa.
RELATED: Measles surge hits new milestone as US cases surpass last year's total
"Measles virus is basically the most infectious virus that we know of. Somewhere between, so an infected person can infect somewhere between 12 and 18 different people," said Teng.
Infections are spreading across all age groups and socioeconomic backgrounds, according to Dr. Evan Shirey, a pediatric infectious diseases' physician at Penn State Health. Though children face the highest risk, people 19 and older are also contracting the virus. Symptoms include very high fever, a runny nose and a rash.
Florida case counts
Local perspective:
Florida ranks fifth in the nation for infections after reporting 141 total cases, with 16 reported in the Tampa Bay area. CDC figures show about 88.8% of Florida kindergartners are vaccinated against measles for the last recorded school year of 2024-2025. The state’s vaccination rate has steadily declined over 15 years.
Florida allows medical, religious and personal exemptions for childhood vaccinations. Public health experts say overall vaccination rates nationwide continue to drop below the 95% threshold required to prevent community spread.
What they're saying:
"I’ve been very clear. I will be until the day I leave this planet that I think people should be able to make decisions about what they put into their body in the absence of coercion," Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo said Friday. "The measles vaccine happens to be an effective vaccine against measles."
Pediatricians continue to strongly urge parents to vaccinate children as students prepare to return to school.
"Among pediatricians, we recommend this vaccine, because we know it works really well," Shirey said. "It'll prevent your child from being the one who's in the hospital with a complication."
Shirey added that growing anti-vaccine sentiment, limited healthcare access and gaps in primary care education contribute to the low coverage.
Vaccine mandates debate
What we don't know:
Last year, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo and Governor Ron DeSantis held a press conference in Tampa vowing to end all vaccine mandates in Florida. Efforts to bring that to fruition failed in the 2026 legislative session.
It is unclear if lawmakers will take the issue back up in 2027.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from FOX 13’s Briona Arradondo, who interviewed USF Health virologist Dr. Michael Teng, and gathered details from a press conference with Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, as well as reporting and interview footage provided by the Associated Press and Penn State Health featuring pediatric infectious diseases physician Dr. Evan Shirey. CDC surveillance data was also utilized.