MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Pan American Health Organization, PAHO, issued a new epidemiological alert following a surge of measles cases across the Americas, with Mexico reporting the highest numbers. It also called for urgent vaccination campaigns, highlighting that 78% of recent cases involved unvaccinated people.
The alert, announced on Wednesday, follows Canada’s loss of measles-free status in November — a setback the United States and Mexico could soon mirror. While both governments have requested a two-month extension to contain their respective outbreaks, the situation is complicated by the Trump administration’s January withdrawal from the World Health Organization, the parent agency of PAHO.
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A health worker, center, prepares to administer a dose of the measles vaccine outside a public hospital in Mexico City, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
A health worker administers a dose of the measles vaccine outside a public hospital in Mexico City, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
A health worker administers a dose of the measles vaccine outside a public hospital in Mexico City, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
A health worker administers a dose of the measles vaccine outside a public hospital in Mexico City, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
A health worker administers a dose of the measles vaccine outside a public hospital in Mexico City, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
Current data is discouraging; the upward trend persists with only months remaining before the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off across the three North American host nations.
In the first three weeks of 2026, PAHO confirmed 1,031 new measles cases across seven countries — a staggering 43-fold increase compared to the same period last year.
While no deaths have been reported thus far, the concentration remains high: Mexico leads with 740 cases, followed by the United States with 171 and Canada with 67.
The state of Jalisco, in western Mexico, has recorded the country’s highest incidence rate this year, following last year’s major outbreaks in Chihuahua and neighboring Texas.
In the United States, public health attention has shifted toward South Carolina, where cases are rising. In response, the Mexican government has spent weeks urging the public to receive the two-dose vaccine.
Authorities have even established mobile vaccination clinics in high-traffic hubs like airports and bus terminals, while in the capital, Mayor Clara Brugada launched 2,000 new vaccination modules this week.
"Everyone under 49 years of age, please get vaccinated,” Brugada urged on Tuesday, emphasizing that the vaccine is now accessible throughout the city. To maximize reach, the new modules are being stationed outside health centers and within major subway stations, bringing the campaign directly to the city’s busiest transit corridors.
PAHO's alert follows a year of sustained growth in measles cases — the highest in five years — driven by a global resurgence and what the agency describes as “persistent immunization gaps.”
While adolescents and young adults account for the largest volume of cases, the highest incidence rates are striking children under the age of one. The disparity underscores a critical need to reinforce second-dose coverage.
Regional data is grim: only 33% of countries have reached the 95% threshold for the first vaccine dose, and a mere 20% have achieved it for the second.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
A health worker, center, prepares to administer a dose of the measles vaccine outside a public hospital in Mexico City, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
A health worker administers a dose of the measles vaccine outside a public hospital in Mexico City, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
A health worker administers a dose of the measles vaccine outside a public hospital in Mexico City, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
A health worker administers a dose of the measles vaccine outside a public hospital in Mexico City, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
A health worker administers a dose of the measles vaccine outside a public hospital in Mexico City, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Trump administration officials traveled to Los Angeles on Wednesday to outline the president's plan to override state and local rules and speed up the permitting process for the reconstruction of tens of thousands of homes destroyed by last year's wildfires.
Last week the president signed an executive order that the White House promised would allow homeowners to rebuild without contending with “unnecessary, duplicative, or obstructive” requirements. The plan is to allow federal loan recipients to “self-certify” that they meet all state and local building requirements if their permits aren't approved within 60 days.
Trump's goal is to help homeowners cut through bureaucratic red tape and “tear through every single obstacle” that's slowing rebuilding, said U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, whom Trump tapped to oversee the effort.
His staff will examine why over 1,000 permit applications have been returned to residents seeking to rebuild, Zeldin said during a Wednesday news conference after meeting with residents in Pacific Palisades, where the first of the two infernos erupted in January 2025.
“We want to know why every single one of these applications are sent back to the applicant,” he said. “What is that hurdle ... that’s preventing them the ability to be able to rebuild their home?”
State and local officials maintain permits are being approved in a timely manner. They questioned whether the Trump administration can legally take over the permitting process and said they have received little to no information about how the new process is to work.
Roughly 3,000 permits have been approved, with more than 1,000 homes under construction, according to county data.
“Now (Trump) has signed an executive order that goes into effect, when? We don’t know. Is it legal? Almost certainly not," California Gov. Gavin Newsom said at a news conference Monday in San Diego. "He hasn’t coordinated with anyone to tell them. It’s just typical Trump.”
The Palisades and Eaton fires killed 31 people and destroyed about 13,000 residential properties, becoming some of the most destructive blazes in the region's history. The fires burned for more than three weeks and cleanup efforts took about seven months — a timeline that both Newsom and Trump have praised as particularly quick.
Zeldin called on insurance companies to speed up payouts to policyholders.
“There are a number of number of people waiting for their full insurance payment," he said. "They are desperate to receive every last penny that they need from their policy to be able to rebuild their lives.”
Under the new federal rules, anyone approved for a Small Business Administration Disaster loan can self-certify that their building plan meets state and local rules if they don't get a permit within 60 days of applying. The order also directs federal agencies to expedite waivers, permits and approvals to work around any environmental, historic preservation or natural resource laws that might stand in the way of rebuilding.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, whose district was hit by the Eaton Fire, pointed out that there are already local self-certification rules in place that help expedite reconstruction. Most permits are handled by local officials within a month, she said.
Barger, who joined Zeldin on Wednesday, said she shared it's a lack of money, not permitting issues, that are keeping many from rebuilding.
The Trump administration has not approved the state’s $33.9 billion disaster aid request.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass did not join the roundtable, but Zeldin said they met privately. Bass has called the executive order a political stunt and recently said rebuilding plans in Pacific Palisades are being approved in half the time compared to single-family home projects citywide before the wildfires, “with more than 70% of home permit clearances no longer required.”
The office of Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who represents Palisades, said she was not invited and said the Trump administration's effort would not bring meaningful relief.
The Board of Supervisors passed a motion Tuesday directing county attorneys and planning officials to monitor the federal government's implementation of Trump's executive order and, if necessary, take legal action to defend local permitting authority.
Also Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Council took steps to wave permitting fees in the Palisades, a move that could cost as much as $90 million over three years, according to Matt Szabo, the city’s top budget analyst.
Justin Levitt, a law professor at Loyola Law School, said there is little the president can do in the short term to speed up rebuilding. Trump could press Congress to pass new national permitting laws, which might take years.
But an attempt by the administration to supersede state and local regulations would spark a long fight in the courts.
“The claim that the federal government can just come in and boot these local laws out of existence, that’s not a thing,” Levitt said.
Associated Press writer Julie Watson contributed from San Diego.
FILE - A person walks amid the destruction left behind by the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
FILE - An aerial view shows houses being rebuilt on cleared lots months after the Palisades Fire, Dec. 5, 2025, in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
