South Carolina is working to contain a growing measles outbreak in Spartanburg County. Nearly 60 cases have been confirmed in the state since July; about 95% of cases have occurred in Spartanburg.
On Oct. 2, public health officials in the county declared an outbreak.
The Department of Public Health set up a mobile clinic outside a library in early November to offer free measles vaccines. Only one person came for a shot, according to the South Carolina Daily Gazette. “It’s progress. That progress is slow,” said state epidemiologist Linda Bell during a recent press briefing.
“We had hoped to see a more robust uptake than that in our mobile health units.”
This outbreak is part of a larger national trend. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported more than 1,700 measles cases and 45 outbreaks so far in 2025. The largest cluster began in Texas, where two children died. There are also ongoing outbreaks in New Mexico, Arizona, and Kansas. Experts warn that the U.S. is at risk of losing its measles elimination status, a designation it has maintained since 2000.
In South Carolina, the outbreak has laid bare the impact of declining vaccination rates and a rise in religious exemptions. Spartanburg County has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the state. Rates fell from 95.1% in 2020–21 to 90% in 2024–25. Religious exemptions in the region rose from about 2,000 during the 2013–14 school year to more than 13,000 by fall 2024. One school, Global Academy of South Carolina, has been linked to the origin of the outbreak; only 17% of its 605 students had documented vaccinations this school year, according to state data.
The federal response has been complicated by conflicting messages from Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy posted on social media in April that the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine is “the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles.” However, he previously claimed vaccines were linked to autism and questioned vaccine safety. “What would I do if I could go back in time and I could avoid giving my children the vaccines that I gave them? I would do anything for that,” he said on a podcast in 2020. In a September 2025 congressional hearing, Kennedy repeated his position that no vaccines are safe or effective.
In South Carolina, Governor Henry McMaster has resisted vaccine mandates. “Measles is a dangerous disease, but in terms of diseases, it’s not one that we should panic about,” he told reporters in October. His administration has supported voluntary vaccination and emphasized personal choice.
Despite the state health department’s push for MMR vaccinations, its public outreach has been minimal compared to its COVID-era campaigns. The department’s 2021 COVID initiative, ‘Shot and a Chaser’, offered free drinks to anyone vaccinated at participating breweries. By contrast, the mobile clinic at the Boiling Springs Library had no signage or giveaways.
Edward Simmer, the interim director of the Department of Public Health, declined to comment to KFF Health News. In April, Republican lawmakers voted against confirming him as permanent director due to his prior support of COVID-19 vaccines and public health measures. At the same hearing, a lawmaker criticized the ‘Shot and a Chaser’ campaign.
The department administered 44 doses of the MMR vaccine through its mobile unit from October to mid-November. However, data show that providers across Spartanburg County gave more than twice as many measles vaccines in October 2025 as in October 2024.
As of mid-November, over 130 people, most of them schoolchildren, remained in quarantine. Cases have also been linked to a church and Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport.
“We’re reminding people that travel for the upcoming holidays increases the risk of exposures greatly,” said Bell at a recent press briefing.
“Due to that risk, we’re encouraging people to consider getting vaccinated now.”
