"No End in Sight" to Measles Outbreak in South Carolina as Cases Continue To Grow
2025 is the worst year for measles cases since the late 1980s.
Published Dec. 11 2025, 2:15 p.m. ET
As if this year wasn't already a picture-perfect hellscape that exemplifies what happens when the wrong people are in charge of the country's public health recommendations, we have another outbreak to contend with as the year draws to a close. Indeed, months after the measles outbreak in Miami, health experts are saying there is another outbreak in South Carolina, thanks to unvaccinated people.
The people of South Carolina have been devastated by a measles outbreak with no end in sight.
Cases, experts say, are accelerating. Many residents, nevertheless, are eschewing the measles vaccine because key players within the current president's administration are scaring people away from necessary vaccines. Something has to give, and this is a problem that Mother Nature will swiftly resolve.
Continue reading to learn more about the measles outbreak in South Carolina, as well as how the people of South Carolina have responded to this heartbreaking reality.
South Carolina is experiencing a measles outbreak with no end in sight.
According to a report in NBC News, as of Dec. 10, there have been 111 measles cases reported in upstate South Carolina, with state health officials saying the measles outbreak is accelerating with no end in sight.
"We are faced with ongoing transmission that we anticipate will go on for many more weeks,” Dr. Linda Bell, a state epidemiologist for the South Carolina Department of Public Health, said during a news briefing, according to NBC News.
Health experts say that a 95% vaccination rate is required to protect against an outbreak. Yet, in Spartanburg County, "the K-12 vaccination rate for measles-mumps-rubella (MMR)...was 90%," according to NBC News, and in nearby Greenville County, the MMR vaccination rate was at 90.5%.
Despite the state's health department offering mobile health clinics to provide vaccines, "few people in the community took advantage," according to the report. Consequently, the state health department has no other vaccination clinics planned despite the ongoing outbreak.
A total of 254 people have been under a three-week quarantine, per the report, and because so many students remain unvaccinated, some students have undergone multiple 21-day quarantines since the beginning of the school year.
Measles cases in the U.S. broken down by year:
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s Measles Cases and Outbreaks page, there have been a total of 1,912 confirmed measles cases spanning 43 states that were reported to officials as of Dec. 9.
A staggering 47 outbreaks have been reported throughout the calendar year, while a comparatively smaller 16 outbreaks were reported in 2024.
According to the "Yearly measles cases" section of the CDC resource, 2025 is by far the worst year for measles cases since the late 1980s through 1992. Yet, from 1993 until about 2019, there had never been such a dramatic uptick in measles cases.
For comparison purposes, there were just 285 cases in 2024; 59 cases in 2023; 121 cases in 2022; 49 cases in 2021; 13 cases in 202; and 1,274 cases in 2019.