On Nov. 26, 1968, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensed a second live, further attenuated measles virus vaccine (Attenuvax by Merck, based on the Moraten strain, derived from the Edmonston strain).

In March 1967, public health officials announced that measles could be eradicated from the U.S. within a few months by use of the newly approved measles vaccines. In 2000, measles is finally considered eliminated in the U.S. More than 500,000 cases of measles occurred each year in the U.S. in the 20th century compared with 13 cases in 2020.