A measles outbreak in West Texas has left health experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sounding alarm bells about a growing financial crisis. The agency’s lead on its measles team, David Sugerman, stated that controlling the outbreak will require significant financial resources due to the high costs of responding to each case.
Sugerman noted that the response to measles outbreaks is expensive, with estimates suggesting that each case can cost between $30,000 and $50,000 for public health efforts. The agency’s funding has been severely impacted by recent budget cuts, including a clawback of over $11 billion in public health funds.
The CDC had previously provided regular updates on its response to the outbreak, but Sugerman’s comments are among the first from agency experts under the current administration. The situation highlights the growing strain on the CDC and its ability to respond to outbreaks, particularly given the lack of transparency and communication with the public.
ACIP chair Keipp Talbot expressed his dismay at the ongoing crisis, emphasizing that healthy children should not be dying from measles in the US when a highly effective vaccine is available. The MMR vaccine offers 97% protection against the virus, making it one of the most infectious viruses known to man.
Source: https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/04/each-measles-case-in-raging-outbreak-costs-up-to-50000-cdc-official-says