Students at Brighton, Olympus, and Skyline high schools will return to classrooms within three weeks as Utah's measles outbreak enters its second year with more than 700 confirmed cases statewide. For families with unvaccinated children, the clock is ticking to get shots or file exemption paperwork before the first day of school.
Utah's outbreak began June 20, 2025, and has now spread to 22 of the state's 29 counties, according to the Utah Department of Health and Human Services. The state has recorded 522 confirmed cases in 2026 alone, the second-highest total in the nation behind South Carolina. Forty-nine Utah patients have been hospitalized, nearly 60% of them children, with complications including pneumonia, sepsis, and shock. None of Utah's patients have died.
Granite School District classes resume Wednesday, Aug. 12. Canyons School District, which serves Brighton High and Cottonwood Heights schools, starts Monday, Aug. 17.
What the law requires
Utah law requires public school students to be vaccinated against measles, mumps, polio, chickenpox, hepatitis A and B, tetanus, and whooping cough. Parents who want an exemption for medical, religious, or personal reasons must complete an online training module and submit an exemption form to their child's school. Medical exemptions also require a signed note from a health care provider.
During the 2024-2025 school year, about 10% of Utah's in-person kindergarten students had an exemption for the MMR vaccine or were missing documentation, according to state data reported by the Utah News Dispatch. Utah's overall kindergarten vaccine exemption rate ranked second-highest in the nation that year, per CDC data.
The two-dose MMR vaccine is 97% effective at preventing measles, according to the CDC.
What happens if there's an exposure
Under state health guidance applied during the current outbreak, unvaccinated students can be excluded from in-person school for up to 21 days after a measles exposure. A Stanford University study of a 2025 West Texas outbreak found school absences climbed 41% across all grade levels when that policy was enforced.
Utah state epidemiologist Leisha Nolen said on June 20, the outbreak's one-year mark, that she is worried the start of school will cause measles to surge again. "It's still here, it's still transmitting," Nolen said. "We just need those few cases to hit the wrong community and it could flare up really big again."
Local pediatricians sound the alarm
Salt Lake County pediatricians interviewed by KFF Health News on Monday, July 27, described treating severely ill unvaccinated children in local hospitals.
Trahern W. Jones, a pediatric infectious disease specialist in Salt Lake City, said parents are often stunned by how severe measles becomes. "Even the best possible course is going to be one of the worst diseases most children ever go through," Jones told KFF Health News.
Ellie Brownstein, a Salt Lake County pediatrician and president-elect of the Utah chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said she continues to work with vaccine-hesitant families rather than turn them away from her practice. Hospital pediatricians Nathan Money and Emilie Morris, who practice in Salt Lake and Utah counties, described children arriving dehydrated, struggling to breathe, and requiring aggressive treatment to rule out sepsis and meningitis.
Where to get vaccinated
Families who need to get their children vaccinated before school starts can find clinic locations and hours through the Utah Department of Health and Human Services at immunize.utah.gov. The Salt Lake County Health Department also offers immunization services.
Canyons School District's back-to-school registration opens Monday, Aug. 3, at 8:30 a.m. through the district's Skyward Family Access system. Families will need immunization records or exemption forms ready at that time.
