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Delaware reaches 23 measles cases, still localized to Kent County
Why Should Delaware Care? In July, the state announced its first confirmed case of measles in more than a decade. The months following have proved to be relatively quiet on cases, but officials have warned residents to remain vigilant.
Why Should Delaware Care? In July, the state announced its first confirmed case of measles in more than a decade. The months following have proved to be relatively quiet on cases, but officials have warned residents to remain vigilant.
Delaware’s measles case count has increased to 23 since the state announced its outbreak earlier this summer, but those cases are still confined to Kent County, officials said Thursday.
State public health officials declared a measles outbreak after confirming four cases of the virus in Kent County on July 22. The announcement came just days after Delaware announced it had confirmed its first case of the virus in more than a decade.
At a Delaware Health Care Commission meeting on Thursday, officials said the state had “stabilized” at 23 cases, but that it is not “out of the woods yet.” Additionally, those cases all remain in Kent County.
For the most part, Delaware has remained isolated from some of the worst measles outbreaks across the country, like nearby Pennsylvania, which has reported multiple deaths tied to the virus.
Earlier this year, Delaware’s principal pediatric hospital, Nemours Children’s Health, reported a measles exposure, but no information about any confirmed cases was later released. The incident involved someone from out of state who sought care at the Wilmington-area hospital, officials said at the time.
In 2000, the U.S. declared measles was eliminated. But last year, cases hit their highest level since that elimination declaration amid a wave of vaccine skepticism, according to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
What can you do to protect yourself?
Measles is highly contagious, and one person can infect multiple other people if those people are not vaccinated. Symptoms can take days, or even weeks, to show themselves, Delaware officials said.
Symptoms can include fever, cough, pink eye or a runny nose lasting for days prior to the onset of the widespread, splotchy rash associated with measles, state officials said.
If someone is exposed or begins showing symptoms, the state health department said they should call its Office of Infectious Disease Epidemiology. The state offers two phone numbers, one for business hours, as well as a 24-hour hotline:
- Business hours line: 302-744-4990
- 24-hour hotline: 888-295-5156
The state recommends that people exposed to measles receive a dose of the Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) vaccine within three days. According to a press release, these vaccines can be found at primary care clinics and pharmacies, and residents should contact their preferred providers to find out more.
Two of the nation’s top pharmacy chains, CVS and Walgreens, both offer the MMR vaccine. Patients can schedule appointments online. Here are links to their MMR pages:
Children ages 1 through 12 are eligible for the vaccine and usually receive two doses. The first dose is usually administered after a child’s first birthday and then again after a few years.
According to the state, those who receive the vaccine are protected for life if they receive both doses, though like all vaccines, the state says there is still a nominal chance someone could contract the virus if they are vaccinated.
National outbreaks amid rise in vaccine skepticism
Delaware’s measles case count has remained relatively low during the ongoing outbreak, compared to nearby states.
Across the country, states have contended with worsening measles outbreaks. This year, there have been 3,659 confirmed cases in 47 states, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released last week.
Those figures have far surpassed 2025’s full-year count of 2,289 confirmed cases. More than 90% of cases in the past two years were confirmed among people who were not vaccinated.
One of the states with the worst outbreaks was South Carolina, which saw nearly 1,000 cases in one of its northern counties between October 2025 and April 2026. According to a state health dashboard, more than 900 of those confirmed cases occurred in individuals who were not vaccinated.
That same dashboard also said children were particularly impacted by the six-month outbreak. Close to 900 of the confirmed cases were among children under 18. Nearly 80% of those were children younger than 11.
South Carolina declared an end to the outbreak in April, reporting no deaths.
In Texas, however, two children died during an outbreak last year. The state dealt with an eight-month outbreak from January to August in the western part of the state. A release from Texas health officials said it had confirmed 762 measles cases, and the outbreak hospitalized 99 people.
Neighboring states like Pennsylvania and Maryland have had to contend with outbreaks of their own. Maryland has confirmed 51 cases this year. In 2025, it had only three.
Pennsylvania has struggled to rein in a deepening outbreak, with one of the highest case counts in the mid-Atlantic. On Wednesday, it reported its fifth measles-associated death. Since the start of 2026, the state has confirmed 943 cases in more than half of its counties.
This summer, Delaware started its own Office of the Surgeon General in response to what it saw as a disconnect between state and federal health officials over vaccines.
In September 2025, as the federal government began revising vaccine recommendations, Delaware and other states publicly countered the new guidelines. When Delaware refuted the federal government, Gov. Matt Meyer issued a “standing order” to pharmacists to “ensure ease of access” for people seeking the vaccines in the state.
It mirrored efforts in other states like Massachusetts, whose governor ordered her state’s insurance carriers to continue to cover vaccines, even if they were not recommended by the federal government.
Delaware joined with Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Rhode Island to collectively focus on “developing evidence-based recommendations on vaccinations, disease surveillance, emergency preparedness and supporting state public health labs.”
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