As measles outbreaks continue to worsen across the U.S., the percentage of physicians seeking fellowships in infectious diseases is shrinking, according to data from the National Resident Matching Program.
In a report published Feb. 19, the NRPM shared data from the Specialties Matching Service Matching program for the 2026 appointment year. In the program’s 42-year history, 2026 marked a record-high appointment year with 15,846 active applicants competing for 15,358 fellowship positions across 6,606 programs.
Although infectious disease fellowships offered 447 positions in 2026, only 319 applicants sought those roles. About 100 infectious disease programs went unfilled in 2026, according to the NRMP.
For the infectious disease specialty, the number of available programs and positions have remained similar over the past few years, but the pool of applicants has steadily declined, according to the report. In 2022, 358 of 387 applicants matched into infectious disease fellowships. In 2026, 272 of the 319 applicants accomplished the same.
The yearslong trend of fewer fellowship applicants for this specialty could weaken the nation’s response to infectious disease outbreaks, which experts project will increase as vaccination rates decline. Read more here.
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