The South Carolina Department of Public Health reported Tuesday that 89 new cases of measles have been identified since Friday, bringing the total number of cases of the outbreak in South Carolina to South Carolina. 789. This is the largest outbreak in the US since measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000, surpassing the outbreak in Texas last year that reached 762 cases before ending in August 2025.

Nationwide, the US has identified 478 measles cases so far this year, surpassing the total number of cases in 2024 (283 cases) and 2023 (63 cases). Last year there were 2,253 cases in the United States.

The majority of measles cases in South Carolina are concentrated in Spartanburg County in the Upstate region, according to a public health department dashboard with available online. The increase in measles outbreaks is a direct result of declining vaccination rates in the US, fueled by anti-science rhetoric and anti-vaccine activists. One such activist, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., happens to be the current head of the Department of Health and Human Services and has spent his time in the role destroying the public health infrastructure of the US.

President Kennedy installed anti-vaccine advocates in prominent roles at the CDC, purging scientists who actually knew what they were talking about. Dr. Kirk Milhoan, the man appointed by Kennedy to chair the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), recently said that the polio vaccine should be checked again to see if it is still needed.

In South Carolina, it’s clear that lower vaccination rates are driving the current outbreak. Of the 789 in the current outbreak, 692 involved people who had not been vaccinated, 14 were partially vaccinated, and only 20 were fully vaccinated. The vaccination status of the remaining 63 is unknown.

Measles cases in South Carolina Mainly in children under the age of 18, with 203 cases known in those under 5 years old, 493 cases in children 5-17 years old, and 65 cases in those 18+. There were also 28 cases where ages were not determined.

On Tuesday, the South Carolina Department of Public Health published a new list of schools where children are currently in quarantine, and the length of it drives home how quickly the spread among children is.

• Holly Springs-Motlow Elementary (59 students in quarantine)
• Campobello Gramling School (46 students in quarantine)
• Libertas Academy (28 students in quarantine)
• Cooley Springs-Fingerville Elementary (22 students in quarantine)
• Crestview Elementary (22 students in quarantine)
• Boiling Springs Elementary (21 students in quarantine)
• Starr Elementary (17 students in quarantine)
• Sugar Ridge Elementary (17 students in quarantine)
• Fairforest Elementary (13 students in quarantine)
• Berry Shoals Elementary (13 students in quarantine)
• Rainbow Lake Middle (12 students in quarantine)
• Global Academy (11 students in quarantine)
• Boiling Springs High (11 students in quarantine)
• Mayo Elementary (8 students in quarantine)
• Cannons Elementary (8 students in quarantine)
• Abner Creek Middle (7 students in quarantine),
• Landrum High (6 students in quarantine)
• Oakland Elementary (6 students in quarantine)
• Mabry Middle (6 students in quarantine)
• Chapman High (less than 5 students in quarantine)

Fourteen other states have also seen measles cases emerge this year, according to CDC websiteincluding Florida, which recognizes three casesand California, which is also recognized three cases. Wisconsin has identified its first measles case of the year this week.