"More than 840 measles infections have been reported in South Carolina, surpassing the tally in Texas last year. Public health experts say it shows the risks when vaccination coverage falls."
"South Carolina is battling the country’s largest measles outbreak since the disease was eliminated from the United States more than a quarter-century ago, with more than 840 cases overwhelmingly in unvaccinated children and adults.
The outbreak that started in October has taken hold in the Spartanburg area where vaccination coverage has fallen below levels needed to stop transmission. Vaccination rates for measles have slipped nationwide, as religious exemptions to school immunization mandates rise and clusters of susceptible people allow the highly contagious virus to spread.
In 16 weeks, South Carolina infections surpassed the case count over seven months in Texas, where an outbreak last year drove the country’s highest annual measles tally in 33 years."
Lena H. Sun reports for the Washington Post January 31, 2026.
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