Arizona has confirmed 228 measles cases since August, most of which have been in a remote area of Mohave County. But in the past three weeks, Coconino, Pima, Maricopa and Pinal counties have all reported their first cases.
Maricopa and Pima county health officials are warning of potential public measles exposure for anyone who visited the Hale Theatre in Gilbert on several dates in early January or anyone who visited two El Rio health clinics in Tucson on Jan. 13 or 14.
As measles continues to spread, getting vaccinated is the best way Arizonans can protect themselves, said Dr. Richard Carmona, former U.S. surgeon general and an adviser to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
“Please get vaccinated because it not only protects you, it protects you from spreading disease to others. And many of those others are people who could be at significant risk,” Carmona said during a call with reporters Tuesday.
Carmona said the MMR vaccine is safe and very effective. 97% of measles cases in Arizona since 2025 have been among unvaccinated people, according to ADHS.
Carmona said falling vaccination rates are to blame for the resurgence of measles after three decades with very few infections in Arizona.
“It is really sad that we have been plagued with an epidemic of mis- and disinformation and people are uncertain of what to do or who to trust,” Carmona said. “That's really what we're trying to accomplish here, to give good information to each citizen so that they understand the importance of vaccination, and that they can make an informed decision to protect their family and the community.”
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Increased federal funding is helping to create new public and private alliances and provide culturally appropriate pre-natal and post-birth care. -
Many of us have had the experience of lying in bed in the middle of the night, trying desperately to fall asleep and not being able to. Researchers at the University of Arizona will be studying how being awake at that hour can impact our decision-making abilities. -
State legislators gave preliminary approval to Gov. Katie Hobbs’ pick to lead the Arizona Department of Health Services — her third nominee for the post in four years. -
There were more than 2,000 confirmed cases of measles in the U.S. as of last week. That’s according to numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is only a couple hundred cases away from the total from all of last year. -
The measles outbreak connected to communities along the Arizona-Utah border has come to an end, according to public health officials.
