City of Milwaukee offers free MMR vaccines amid confirmed measles cases in Wisconsin

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) — The state Department of Health Services confirmed the cases on Sunday, Aug. 3, saying there are nine people with the virus in Oconto County, just north of Green Bay.

In 2025, the Centers for Disease Control has confirmed 1,333 cases of measles across 40 states.

Since the 90s, health officials say they started to see a decline in parents not vaccinating their kids. Now, according to the Milwaukee Health Department, Wisconsin is the third lowest in measles vaccine rates.

"In the U.S., there have been three confirmed deaths to measles, which is extremely heartbreaking. As a parent, I cannot imagine losing my child to a vaccine-preventable disease," said Mike Totoraitis, commissioner of health.

Measles has seen a resurgence this year, with an outbreak of more than 300 cases in Texas and comes amid falling vaccination rates across Wisconsin.

"Talk to your friends and family, classmates' parents, to ensure they have good information, so they know they can take a really simple step to protect their children," Totoraitis urged.

Amid this growing threat, Mayor Cavalier Johnson joined the health department to encourage families to check their vaccination status and get vaccinated.

"Especially in times like these, I think it's important to trust science, that we trust doctors, that we trust professionals in this field. This is not something to play with," said Mayor Johnson.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, statewide, more than 280,000 kindergarten students are not protected from measles.

"It is one of our most successful vaccines. If you get those two doses, you are 97 or 98% protected from ever getting measles. It doesn't matter if you're in that room with someone with measles, you will not get it," said Jeff Pothof, UW Health emergency medicine physician.

Commissioner of Health Mike Totoraitis says measles is three times more contagious than Covid, and can linger in the air for up to two hours.

"For every Covid case, we anticipate 2-5 additional cases, and with measles, we actually anticipate seeing 12-18 additional cases," said Totoraitis.

If diagnosed, the quarantine time is twice the length of Covid-19.

"Understanding that 21 days of not having your child in school can be extremely disruptive to work and daily home life," said Totoraitis.

To help, the city has purchased 800 doses of the MMR vaccine — they're offering it for free at City of Milwaukee health clinics.

If you want to check and see if you have the MMR vaccine, click here for the Wisconsin Immunization Registry.