| petite6 |
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| Jokers Wild |
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| Reged: 08/14/06 |
| Posts: 188650 |
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 The U.S. will likely lose its measles elimination status. Here's what that means
01/31/26 02:50 PM
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The measles outbreak in South Carolina is showing little sign of slowing down. The state has confirmed 847 cases since the first case was reported in October, making the outbreak bigger than the one in Texas, which started just over a year ago.
Dr. Linda Bell, South Carolina's state epidemiologist, points out that in Texas, measles cases grew over the course of seven months, while in South Carolina it has taken just 16 weeks to surpass the Texas case count.
"This is a milestone that we have reached in a relatively short period of time, very unfortunately," she said at a press briefing Wednesday. "And it's just disconcerting to consider what our final trajectory will look like for measles in South Carolina."
The state on Friday reported 58 new cases since Tuesday.
This latest outbreak, as well as the speed at which it is spreading, is another test of the United States' ability to contain measles. It comes as the Trump administration has taken multiple steps to undermine overall confidence in vaccines.
And it is happening as the U.S. is already in danger of losing its status as a country that has eliminated measles. That's a technical designation. It's given to countries that have gone a year without a continuous chain of transmission. For the U.S., the clock started in January 2025 with the Texas outbreak.
https://www.npr.org/2026/01/31/nx-s1-5694681/measles-elimination-status-south-carolina-texas-outbreak?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
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