New York launches tracker as measles cases hit 57

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — The New York State Department of Health (DOH) launched an online dashboard on Tuesday to track the measles outbreak that has infected at least 57 people in New York in 2026.

DOH advised New Yorkers to verify their immunization status as the contagious respiratory virus spreads through rural communities upstate.

State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald noted that healthcare providers should get ready to diagnose and treat the disease.

“Measles is highly contagious and can cause serious illness and hospitalizations, yet it is effectively prevented with up-to-date measles immunizations,” McDonald said in a statement on Tuesday announcing the online dashboard.

The state health department reported 51 confirmed cases outside of New York City and six cases in the city as of Saturday, Sept. 12. According to the DOH website, the statewide total in 2025 was 48 cases.

Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recorded 3,294 cases so far in 2026 as of Sept. 11. That’s an increase of 1,005 cases over 2025, when there were calls for a federal public health emergency declaration .

Public health authorities have monitored transmission as measles spread locally and through domestic travel, and the outbreak has hit the Southern Tier and the Finger Lakes the hardest, state data shows. Steuben County currently leads the state with 10 confirmed cases, followed by Seneca County with nine cases and Otsego County with seven cases. Officials also detected “wild-type” measles in the wastewater in Montgomery and Yates Counties in August.

With students back in class this month, school grounds can concentrate the virus as susceptible children gather in repeated contact. Nationally, patients between 5 and 19 years old account for about half of all 2026 measles cases. State law mandates that students from nursery school through 12th grade be vaccinated to enroll in or attend class .

Indeed, per DOH, the best protection is the combined measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine , commonly known as the MMR vaccine. One dose provides 93 percent protection against measles, and two doses reach 97 percent, according to state health guidelines.

That doesn’t mean vaccination gives someone only a 3 percent chance of contracting measles. It means that, among people who are vaccinated, 97 percent fewer would get the disease after exposure to the virus.

The CDC recommends children receive their first dose between 12 and 15 months old, and a second dose between 4 and 6 years old. But DOH advises an early dose for infants as young as 6 months old if they plan to travel internationally or to high-risk areas.

The state’s push for immunizations follows DOH defying President Trump’s recent executive order on childhood vaccines , which directed federal agencies to divide the MMR vaccine into separate doses. State officials have contended that splitting the shots offers no medical benefit.

An airborne virus causes measles when an infected person coughs or sneezes. People can contract the disease simply by entering a room an infected person visited up to two hours prior. Symptoms usually begin one to two weeks after infection and include high fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes. A rash of flat, red spots typically appears on the face three to five days later and spreads down the body.

A person with measles can infect others up to four days before a rash appears. That’s why DOH advised anyone exposed to quarantine for 21 days. People who test positive should isolate until four days after the rash starts.

According to DOH, the disease can cause complications like severe pneumonia, swelling of the brain, and even death, while also damaging long-term immune cells.

Health officials said that anyone who feels sick should call ahead to their medical clinic or emergency room so the medical staff can adequately prepare to control the infection.