Trump administration is failing to address spread of measles, experts say

Experts say that the Trump administration has failed to take obvious steps to contain the spread of measles, which is continuing to accelerate in the United States as the number of cases has climbed past 1,000. The administration has revealed a relaxed attitude toward the highly contagious virus both in terms of messaging and funding allocation, experts said.

“One of the leaders at [the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)] referred to this dramatic and tragic increase in the cases of measles, and, in some states, deaths, as just the ‘cost of doing business’,” noted Alonzo Plough, who has worked in multiple senior public health positions and is currently chief of science at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Plough was referencing a quote from Dr Ralph Abraham, who served as CDC principal deputy director beginning in December 2025, and who resigned in late February. To Plough, hearing that from CDC leadership suggests “that they do not believe that this is a significant issue to track”. Andrew G Nixon, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, said it’s “entirely inaccurate” to suggest that the CDC had deprioritized measles.

“The CDC’s focus remains on measles prevention and treatment education and targeted public health interventions to protect communities and provide clear, accurate information to all Americans,” Nixon said. Florida’s former surgeon general and a current professor at Brown University’s school of public health, Dr Scott Rivkees, said that current messaging on public health is causing “tremendous confusion to the public”, with “individuals in senior positions who are advocating for things that the medical community will take issue with”, like “alternatives” to the measles vaccine, which is known to be safe and effective.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/05/trump-administration-measles