# Measles, whooping cough surge nationally amid vaccine hesitancy  
**Published:** 2026-05-31T22:09:38.000Z  
**Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/31/repub/measles-whooping-cough-spike-amid-low-vaccination-rates/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/measles-whooping-cough-surge-nationally-amid-vaccine-hesitancy

The United States is experiencing a dramatic resurgence of measles and whooping cough as vaccine hesitancy fueled by misinformation spreads across the nation, with Nebraska already recording cases and experts warning of worse outbreaks ahead due to declining childhood vaccination rates.

[According to reporting by Stateline, a nonprofit news network](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/31/repub/measles-whooping-cough-spike-amid-low-vaccination-rates/), there have been 1,983 measles cases nationally this year, nearly matching the entire 2,288 cases reported for all of 2025—the worst year since 1991. Halfway through the year, 12 states and the District of Columbia already have more measles cases than they did for all of 2025, with [South Carolina reporting 669 cases, the highest total in any state](https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html).

Nebraska has recorded three cases in 2025 and three in 2026, [according to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services](https://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Measles.aspx). The state's first case of this year occurred in [Lancaster County, marking the first confirmed measles case in the county since 1990](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/02/09/vaccination-rates-for-nebraska-schoolchildren-continue-to-drop-amid-revival-of-measles-cases/).

The escalating outbreaks coincide with troubling trends in Nebraska's childhood vaccination rates. [A January report from Johns Hopkins University indicated that measles, mumps and rubella vaccination rates for Nebraska's kindergarteners have dropped from 96% in 2020-21 to about 94% in recent years](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/02/09/vaccination-rates-for-nebraska-schoolchildren-continue-to-drop-amid-revival-of-measles-cases/). Experts say [a vaccination rate of 95% is necessary to prevent the spread of measles in a community](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/02/09/vaccination-rates-for-nebraska-schoolchildren-continue-to-drop-amid-revival-of-measles-cases/).

[Dr. Mark Rupp, interim chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, warned that Nebraskans should brace themselves for increased measles cases and possibly polio, whooping cough and mumps, due to the state's declining childhood vaccination rates](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/02/09/vaccination-rates-for-nebraska-schoolchildren-continue-to-drop-amid-revival-of-measles-cases/). He predicted these outbreaks would most likely occur in regional "pockets" within the state.

Whooping cough is also rising nationally, with [Ohio and Florida most affected, and deaths last year reaching the highest level—22—since 2010](https://stateline.org/2026/05/29/measles-whooping-cough-spike-amid-low-vaccination-rates/).

Public health officials point to multiple contributing factors beyond vaccine hesitancy. [State public health departments are stretched thin, limiting their ability to contain measles, and anti-vaccine rhetoric has made containment more difficult](https://stateline.org/2026/05/29/measles-whooping-cough-spike-amid-low-vaccination-rates/), according to Dr. Andrew Pavia of the University of Utah.

[The national increases signal that the U.S. will certainly lose the measles elimination status it gained in 2000, in a determination due this fall](https://stateline.org/2026/05/29/measles-whooping-cough-spike-amid-low-vaccination-rates/). [Dozens of measles patients have been hospitalized with serious symptoms such as brain inflammation or pneumonia, and one baby developed life-threatening congenital measles during pregnancy](https://stateline.org/2026/05/29/measles-whooping-cough-spike-amid-low-vaccination-rates/).

Public health experts emphasize the urgency of vaccination. [The MMR vaccine has been used since 1971 with an excellent safety record, and two doses are 97% effective against measles](https://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Measles.aspx).

## Sources

- [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/31/repub/measles-whooping-cough-spike-amid-low-vaccination-rates/)
- [CDC measles data and case tracking](https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html)
- [Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services measles information](https://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Measles.aspx)
- [Nebraska Examiner reporting on declining vaccination rates and Lancaster County case](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/02/09/vaccination-rates-for-nebraska-schoolchildren-continue-to-drop-amid-revival-of-measles-cases/)

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/31/repub/measles-whooping-cough-spike-amid-low-vaccination-rates/.