Pennsylvania is reporting 74 new measles cases since Monday, the state’s health department said Wednesday.
A total of 1,078 cases have been reported in the state so far this year. At least 207 people have been hospitalized and five people have died, officials said.
“Of the 74 cases added, more than 40 represent individuals who were sick more than two weeks ago and are no longer contagious, but their cases were only recently reported and subsequently confirmed, the state’s department of health said. Wednesday’s update “does not reflect a current surge in new infections.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people receive two doses of the MMR vaccine, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective in preventing measles infection and two doses are 97% effective, the CDC says.
Infants aged 6 to 11 months living in or traveling to high-risk outbreak areas may receive an early third dose of the MMR vaccine.
However, CDC data shows vaccination rates have been lagging in recent years. During the 2025 to 2026 school year, 92.4% of kindergartners received the MMR vaccine, according to data. This is lower than the 95.2% seen in the 2019 to 2020 school year, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Pennsylvania, more than 8,800 doses of the MMR vaccine have been administered by DOH staff. Of those doses, about 3,500 were administered in August and more than 2,500 were administered in September.
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