As the 21st century got underway, Americans had reason to celebrate a public health breakthrough: Measles had been eliminated in the United States.
The good news, however, did not last, and there were multiple measles outbreaks in U.S. communities in 2025. In fact, The Hill reported, “The U.S. on Tuesday met one of the key conditions for losing its measles elimination status, more than 25 years after it achieved this distinction and one year into a second Trump administration that has deprioritized the prevention of infectious diseases.”
One might expect the leaders of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to react to these developments with great concern. But the Trumpified CDC is apparently content to shrug with relative indifference. STAT News reported:
With measles transmission in the United States at levels that haven’t been seen in decades, the principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that he would not view the loss of the country’s measles elimination status as a significant event.
‘Not really,’ said Ralph Abraham, a physician who formerly served as Louisiana’s surgeon general. ‘You know, it’s just the cost of doing business, with our borders being somewhat porous [and] global and international travel.’
Of course, international travel was also common between 2001 and 2024, and according to Republicans, our domestic borders were plenty “porous.”
Abraham added, “We have these communities that choose to be unvaccinated. That’s their personal freedom.”
As The San Francisco Chronicle noted, public health advocates responded to the CDC deputy director’s comments with disgust. Pediatrician and vaccine specialist Paul Offit said in an online discussion hosted by the health blog Inside Medicine this week, “When you hear somebody like Abraham say ‘the cost of doing business,’ how can you be more callous? Three people died of measles last year in this country.”
If Abraham’s name sounds at all familiar, it’s probably because Republican Gov. Jeff Landry tapped the former GOP congressman to serve as Louisiana’s surgeon general two years ago, where his tenure was not without controversy.
The Washington Post reported, “Abraham drew intense criticism in office for instructing health officials to stop promoting vaccines including flu shots and instead emphasize personal choice and consulting with doctors. In a December legislative hearing, Abraham said he regularly sees patients injured by coronavirus vaccines and alleged adverse reactions were being covered up, NPR reported. He has also supported research into an extensively debunked connection between vaccines and autism.” Abraham has gone so far as to describe Covid shots as “dangerous” (they are not) and touted ivermectin during the 2020 pandemic, despite science showing the drug was an ineffective treatment. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. nevertheless brought the Louisiana Republican in to serve as principal deputy director at the CDC, effectively the agency’s No. 2. Three months later, Abraham appears wholly unconcerned about the United States losing its measles elimination status. This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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