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In last Friday’s newsletter, we told you about a foodborne parasitic outbreak that has sickened thousands of people across several states. Today we’re bringing you an update on a totally different ailment stalking Donald Trump’s America—one that was supposed to have been eliminated decades ago. Measles cases in the U.S. just set a depressing record, making 2026 the worst year for the disease since the Soviet Union collapsed. Here’s what’s behind the surge.

Wait, slow down. What does measles entail, again?

Measles is a highly contagious virus. Most cases are mild and amount to little more than a cough, fever, and runny nose. But severe illness can cause rashes, pneumonia, brain damage, or death, and younger children are at greater risk of hospitalization. Safe and effective vaccines have been widely available since the 1960s; by 2000, the U.S. declared measles eliminated here. But cases have skyrocketed in the past two years.

How bad is the current outbreak?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counts 2,318 confirmed cases across the country so far this year, up from 2,289 in all of 2025—and we still have five months to go. That’s the highest number since 1991, and more cases in just the past two years than in every previous year since the turn of the century combined. Three unvaccinated people in the U.S. died of measles last year, the first known deaths from the disease since 2015.

Not to point fingers, but are the anti-vaxxers to blame?

Recent outbreaks have taken root in places where vaccine hesitancy is common, including among Mennonites in Texas and evangelical Slavs in South Carolina. A 95 percent vaccination rate with the modern, two-dose MMR shot—so named because it also protects against mumps and rubella—is enough to provide herd immunity from measles. But in vaccine-hesitant communities, the share that’s protected can be much lower. Most of this year’s cases have been in people who are unvaccinated by choice (or by their parents’ choice). But people who can’t get the shot, including infants, have also gotten sick.

What’s the Trump administration doing in response?

Childhood vaccination rates nose-dived as vaccine hesitancy rose during COVID. But Trump’s decision to appoint longtime vaccine skeptics like Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. probably hasn’t helped. When measles started circulating last year, Kennedy was slow to endorse the MMR shot and hawked ineffective measles treatments. He also cut funding for research aimed at reducing vaccine hesitancy and is pushing an agency-wide effort to support his claims that vaccines are dangerous. Trump himself has advocated splitting the MMR vaccine into separate shots, which would probably just leave more Americans more vulnerable to more diseases.

How can I avoid getting—and spreading—this? 

If you’ve gotten two MMR doses, you’re well protected. But if you were born between 1957 and 1989, you may have gotten a version of the vaccine (or a number of doses) that was less effective. Ask a healthcare provider about whether you should consider a booster.

What happens next?

Cases will probably continue to rise, especially when kids go back to school this fall and as the weather turns colder. If vaccination rates keep sinking and outbreaks become commonplace, measles could once again become endemic. International experts are set to meet later this year to decide whether the U.S. should lose its elimination status. In happier news, rising case counts have jump-started research into drugs that could treat people who do get sick, including antibody and antiviral therapies. But the sad truth is that we’ve had the solution to measles for decades. To adapt the old saw, you can lead a horse to a vaccine but you can’t make it take one.

Congrats, you’ve survived yet another grueling week of news. To help get your weekend off to a happy start, I recommend:

A peek into the future of restaurant reservations: If you’re making plans for a fancy dinner this weekend, take note: A big “upgrade” is coming to your favorite restaurants—to diners’ detriment. In the A.I. age, Maggie Hennessy asserts, sparring with a grouchy maître d’ over the phone is part of what makes dining out great.

Getting to know the Slatesters behind the mic: Unwind with this casual conversation between What Next: TBD host Lizzie O’Leary and producer Rob Gunther. Lizzie and Rob discuss some strange developments in the world of running—and drop some personal lore, like Rob’s experience at the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. This episode is exclusive to Slate Plus members. If you haven’t yet become one, sign up today.

Listening to a pop icon’s latest album: Charli XCX is back with the follow-up to her stratospheric hit record Brat. Slate music critic Carl Wilson argues that the singer’s new album is a middle finger to the expectations of being an “It Girl.”

A test of your news knowledge: Recap the events of this week by going head-to-head with Slate staff writer Molly Olmstead in our news quiz. She aced it—can you beat her score?

Before I go, some personal news: I’m taking off a week and change to get married, so my illustrious colleagues will have your back until I return. See you next month, and have a great weekend!