* Governing Magazine…

In 2020, there were 13 measles cases in the U.S. In 2025, there were 2,228. Less than halfway through 2026, there have been almost 1,800.

The disease was officially declared to be eliminated in the U.S. in 2000. There’s little mystery about what’s changed since 2020. Vaccination rates went down during the pandemic, and they’ve yet to return to the level considered necessary to prevent outbreaks.

Measles is one of the world’s most contagious viruses. Children are especially vulnerable; if an unvaccinated child comes into contact with an infected person, there’s a 90 percent chance they will contract the disease. Since 2020, vaccination rates among kindergarten-aged children have dropped below the 95 percent recommended by the public health community in most states. Only 10 achieved this during the 2024-2025 school year.

* Keep in mind the following data does not cite a specific kindergarten-aged rate. Illinois Department of Public Health…

Illinois’s newly-updated School Vaccination Coverage Dashboard shows that coverage rates for all school-required childhood immunizations are holding steady compared to last year, and all but one of those immunizations is above the state’s 95% coverage goal to optimize prevention of infectious disease spread.

The dashboard is put together each year by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), using data provided to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) by PreK-12 schools and school districts across Illinois. […]

The only immunization under the 95% threshold is the meningococcal vaccine, which protects against meningitis (a type of brain infection) and its complications. However, even this vaccine rate has shown improvement at 94.39%, up from 93.88% the previous year. This is a significant improvement from the 2024-25 school year, when three immunizations (meningococcal, pneumococcal, and Hib) were below 95%.

Measles had one of the highest rates of coverage at 96.78%. As a result, Illinois continues to see low case counts of measles, even as total numbers nationwide have soared to their highest levels since measles was declared “eliminated” in 2000.

* The Tribune…

More than 95% of children statewide had received 10 school-required vaccines as of October, including those against chickenpox, whooping cough, hepatitis B, measles and polio, among others. The only required vaccine that fewer than 95% of Illinois kids received was the meningococcal vaccine, with 94.4% of Illinois children vaccinated. […]

Areas of Illinois with lower rates for multiple types of vaccinations include several counties in the northwest corner of the state, as well as in far southern Illinois.

Chicago also had rates below 95% for certain vaccines. In Chicago, about 92.7% of kids received the vaccine that protects against diptheria, tetanus and whooping cough. About 88.8% had received the meningococcal vaccine; 93.6% had received the polio vaccine; and 92.6% had received a vaccine for older children that also protects against diptheria, tetanus and whooping cough.

* Here’s the Chicago map. Blue means at least 95 percent; yellow is 90-94.9 percent; orange is less than 90 percent…