The U.S. narrowly eked out a measles win, keeping elimination status

International travelers may still import the virus, but a nearly yearlong outbreak is over

measles vaccine

Most of the measles cases in 2019 occurred in people who were not vaccinated or did not know whether they had been. Around 95 percent of a community must be vaccinated against measles to prevent an outbreak.

Airman 1st Class Matthew Lotz/U.S. Air Force

Just in the nick of time, a nearly yearlong measles outbreak that threatened to strip the United States of a major public health achievement decades in the making has ended.