Hundreds of South Carolina Schoolchildren Are in Measles Quarantine, Thanks to Low Vaccination Rates

"In South Carolina, hundreds of people-many of them young children in elementary schools-have become the latest victims of an almost entirely avoidable malady. Rejecting the scientific consensus, which has for decade upon decade proven the efficacy of exhaustively tested vaccines, they're people who have either chosen not to protect themselves with the universally available measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, or have even more heinously chosen not to protect their loved ones and young children who can't make such decisions for themselves."

"But the actual infections are just part of the disruption that vaccine hesitancy manages to wreak here, and in other U.S. states also experiencing outbreaks-there are also at least 254 people in quarantine across several schools and a church in Spartanburg County, because they're unvaccinated people who may have been exposed to the measles virus. And because measles has a long gestation period of 21 days despite being one of the most contagious and transmissible viruses on Earth, that means three-week quarantine periods as well."

"For some of these South Carolina schoolchildren, it's already their second measles quarantine of the 2025-2026 school year, meaning that they'll have spent 42 days out of school since September-basically half of the academic year to date. All because of vaccination rates that continue to slip. According to local news sources, the K-12 vaccination rate for the MMR vaccine was 90% in Spartanburg County and 90.5% in neighboring Greenville County, both well below the level of 95%"

A measles outbreak in upstate South Carolina has produced 111 reported cases and extensive community disruption. At least 254 people are under quarantine across several schools and a church in Spartanburg County after potential exposures. Measles' 21-day incubation requires three-week quarantines, and some children have already missed 42 days of school this academic year. Local K-12 MMR vaccination rates are about 90% in Spartanburg County and 90.5% in Greenville County, below the roughly 95% level needed to prevent cascading outbreaks. Vaccine refusal and hesitancy are driving the spread and social consequences.

Read at Jezebel