Article
What happened
On Aug. 25, the Pennsylvania Department of Health said two unvaccinated Lancaster County residents had died of measles. The state has confirmed 393 cases in 28 counties so far this year. Nationally, CDC data from Aug. 21 show 2,777 confirmed cases in 2026.
The state noted that nearly one in five people who get measles is hospitalized and that the virus can stay infectious in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours. Two doses of the MMR vaccine provide about 97% protection.
The risk is unlikely to fade quickly. A week earlier, the CDC reported that 4.2% of kindergartners had an exemption from one or more vaccines in the 2025-26 school year, up from 3.6% the year before, with increases in 41 states and the District of Columbia. About 280,000 kindergartners started school without documentation of two MMR doses.
Why it is a hospital operations issue
Measles patients often seek care in emergency departments, urgent care centers and clinics before anyone suspects the diagnosis. A single unscreened patient in a waiting room can expose dozens of people, triggering contact tracing, staff furloughs and post-exposure treatment for vulnerable patients such as infants and people with weakened immune systems. Each exposure event consumes infection prevention, employee health and leadership time, and can disrupt staffing for weeks.
Readiness checklist
- Screen at the front door. Make sure registration and triage ask about fever, rash and recent exposure or travel, and that suspected cases are masked and moved quickly.
- Know your isolation capacity. Confirm the number and location of working airborne infection isolation rooms in each emergency department and on inpatient units, and plan for overflow.
- Verify staff immunity. Employee health should hold documented evidence of measles immunity for all workers, including contracted and travel staff, so exposed employees can be cleared or excluded fast.
- Prepare post-exposure workflows. Confirm supplies and protocols for vaccine and immune globulin for exposed patients and staff.
- Coordinate with public health. Keep a direct line to local health departments for testing, case notification and exposure lists.
- Use your community voice. Primary care and pediatric practices can identify patients who are behind on MMR and offer catch-up doses as the school year begins.
Archive entry for Aug 30, 2026, added Nov. 11, 2026.