South Carolina measles outbreak doubles within a week: ‘Staring over the edge’
The majority of patients reported in South Carolina are children and adolescents. Most are not vaccinated.
No vaccine is 100% effective, but the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine comes close. Two doses, usually given around age 1 and again around age 4, are 97% effective in preventing measles, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to NBC News data, the K-12 MMR vaccination rate in Spartanburg County was 90% for the 2024-25 school year, below the 95% level that doctors say is necessary to protect against an outbreak. In neighboring Greenville County, the MMR vaccination rate was 90.5%.
Few people in the outbreak zone are taking advantage of free shots provided by the state health department.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the South Carolina Department of Public Health deployed mobile health units to Spartanburg offering free measles vaccinations. Only 18 people showed up to get vaccinated: nine adults and nine children, state health officials told NBC News.
Dr. Eliza Varadi, a pediatrician in private practice in South Carolina, said the outbreak is centered on a community largely populated by people who immigrated to Spartanburg County from Ukraine in recent decades. Many arrived in the United States with a level of distrust of vaccines, based on their experiences under Soviet control, said Varadi, a native of Russia. She has not treated any patients during the current outbreak, but is caring for many families from Russia and Ukraine.
“I have to constantly explain that ‘yes, these vaccines are safe’ and ‘no, they’re not going to cause harm,’” Varadi said. “It’s a lot of rehab with a lot of families coming from this area.”
About an hour and a half south in Spartanburg, Columbia, some families can’t get their shots fast enough. “I’ve been getting phone calls from families saying, ‘I want this vaccine, like yesterday. I want it early. What can I do?'” Greenhouse said. During epidemics, babies as young as 6 months can be vaccinated. They will still need the other two doses, experts say.
On Wednesday, health officials said a person visited the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia on Jan. 2 while contagious. NBC affiliate station WIS reported that nearly 1,000 people visited the museum that day.
Anyone unvaccinated and exposed to the virus will need to quarantine for 21 days, the time it takes for symptoms to develop. However, there is a solution: take the photo as soon as possible.
“If we can identify that exposure in a short window, 72 hours, which is basically three days, we can immunize you, and your body will make its own defensive antibodies to protect you against this virus, and you can avoid quarantine,” LaCroix said.
Three other states have been affected by South Carolina’s outbreak, including Ohio, where at least three children have been diagnosed, according to NBC affiliate station WKYC.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has reported eight cases since December. Seven of them are tied to South Carolina, including five in Buncombe County, near Asheville.
This week, the Snohomish County Health Department in Washington state confirmed three cases of measles in children who had direct contact with a family visiting from South Carolina over the holidays. County Health Officer Dr. James Lewis said that while he hoped the outbreak would be contained, more diagnoses were likely.
“I definitely think there are cases in the community right now that are relatively mild and people are managing at home,” Lewis said.
The children in Snohomish County are all under the age of 10, Lewis said. None required hospitalization.
Albrecht, of Prisma Health in South Carolina, said he and his public health colleagues are very concerned about further spread.
“You should be too,” he said. “We are currently facing the largest outbreak in the United States, and it is going to get worse before it gets better.”
