CDC Declines West Coast Request to Validate Rapid Measles Test
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has denied a request from California and Washington to validate a rapid, high-volume test for measles, according to a letter from the West Coast Health Alliance reported on October 22, 2026.
The two states first asked the CDC in May. After a two-month wait, the agency turned the request down, citing "other competing priorities." The alliance's letter was addressed to CDC Director Erica Schwartz and signed by health officials in California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington. It asks her to reconsider and to validate a rapid, high-volume measles test in preparation for major outbreaks.
To validate a test means formally confirming that it produces reliable results, which laboratories generally need before relying on it. The alliance also asked the CDC to develop a measles test for the Hologic Panther Fusion platform, a laboratory machine that can process up to 500 tests in eight hours, and to publish the protocol, or step-by-step method, so any lab can run it. The letter further asked the agency to create testing protocols for other high-priority pathogens.
At present, there is no high-throughput measles test that the CDC has published or validated. Texas state laboratories developed one during the West Texas measles outbreak last year, but they have not distributed or published its protocol. According to the letter, the CDC has completed studies on the Texas test and on another test from ARUP Laboratories, but those studies were not full validations or a comprehensive comparison.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Emily Hilliard, said the CDC is making sure state and local health departments have the support they need to strengthen measles detection and outbreak response.
The request comes as the country's measles numbers continue to rise. The CDC reported 4,410 confirmed measles cases in the United States in 2026 as of October 15. On October 20, the agency confirmed that the country had logged a third measles-related death in 2026.
