• Posted December 12, 2025

South Carolina Places 254 in Quarantine as Measles Cases Surge

South Carolina health officials say a measles outbreak is growing amid holiday travel and low vaccination rates, and they warn the spread could continue for weeks.

As of Dec. 10, the state’s Department of Public Health has confirmed 114 cases, nearly all in the state’s upstate region. Of 111 cases recorded there, 105 were in people who were unvaccinated, and three had received only one shot of the two-dose measles vaccine, state epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell said in a briefing.

"That is a spike in cases we are concerned about," Bell stated, noting that South Carolina has “lower than hoped for” vaccination coverage.

The measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is 93% effective after one dose and 97% effective after two doses, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

State officials have placed 254 people in quarantine, including 16 who are in isolation. 

At least 16 new cases were traced to recent gatherings at the Way of Truth Church in Inman. Bell said the church has cooperated with the health department’s recommendations.

The outbreak comes at a time of heightened debate over vaccines nationwide. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been a well-known vaccine skeptic, raising concern among public health experts about the impact on vaccination rates.

The CDC has reported 1,912 measles cases across 42 states this year, more than half in children. 

Many cases stem from communities where vaccination rates have dropped since the pandemic.

In South Carolina, 20 cases involve kiddos younger than 5 and 75 cases were found in children ages 5 to 17. School vaccination rates in the state have fallen from nearly 96% in 2020 to 93.5% in the current school year, data shows.

Measles spreads with ease. Up to 90% of unvaccinated people exposed to the virus will become infected. 

People can spread the virus for four days before a rash appears, and particles can stay in the air for up to two hours after an infected person leaves a room.

The United States declared measles eliminated in 2000, meaning it was no longer spreading continuously. 

But that status is at risk.

“And so now that we are … at the brink of seeing continued transmission in the United States for almost a year now, we’ve run the risk of losing that designation as a country,” Bell said.

“What we’d like people to see is that picture: to consider the effectiveness of the vaccine and having this disease essentially go away,” she added.

The CDC estimates that 1 to 2 of every 1,000 measles-infected children will die, often from pneumonia. 

Two girls in Texas died earlier this year during another large outbreak, and officials suspect a man in New Mexico also died of measles.

Bell said she expects transmission in South Carolina to continue “for many more weeks” unless more people get vaccinated.

More information

The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases has more on measles.

SOURCE: The Washington Post, Dec. 11, 2025