- Title: Measles outbreak 'is still hot' in U.S, says former CDC official
- Date: 10th February 2026
- Summary: ATLANTA, GEORGIA, UNITED STATES (JANUARY 15, 2026) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE)(English) DR. DEMETRE DASKALAKIS, FORMER DIRECTOR OF CDC’S NATIONAL CENTER FOR IMMUNIZATION AND RESPIRATORY DISEASES, SAYING: “If 95% of the population is immune to measles, measles can’t create a really big outbreak. It can only do a little bit of damage. And so, I think what's really important to loo
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: cdc measles outbreak south carolina vaccines
- Location: LUBBOCK + SEMINOLE, TEXAS + ATLANTA, GEORGIA + WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
- City: LUBBOCK + SEMINOLE, TEXAS + ATLANTA, GEORGIA + WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
- Country: US
- Topics: Health/Medicine,North America
- Reuters ID: LVA004844020012026RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Measles vaccinations have doubled in recent months in a South Carolina region hit hard by the disease's worst outbreak in the U.S. in more than two decades, but health officials warned that far more immunizations are needed to contain the virus' spread.
The outbreak, like those in other regions, has been fueled by a rise in vaccine hesitancy since the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving many U.S. communities vulnerable to outbreaks of measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases.
The number of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine doses administered in Spartanburg County, near the North Carolina border and the epicenter of the latest outbreak, has increased 102% over the past four months compared with the same period a year earlier, according to state data shared with Reuters. More than 1,000 additional shots were delivered in January.
Statewide, MMR immunizations were up 28% during the same four-month period.
Dr. Demtre Daskalakis, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said the virus knows no borders in an interview with Reuters on January 15.
"We're going into 2026 with an outbreak that is still hot," Daskalakis said. "I don't think it's slowing down. And I think whenever you see an outbreak in one state, infections don't heed borders."
In emailed comments to Reuters, Dr. Linda Bell, South Carolina's state epidemiologist, said 1,178 doses of MMR vaccines were given to infants aged six to 11 months across the state. Of those, 55% were in Spartanburg County and neighboring Greenville County.
"These early doses are essential to protecting young children from measles," she said.
Bell said there are likely a few thousand children and adults, however, who remain unvaccinated against measles in Spartanburg County.
(Production: Jayla Whitfield-Anderson, Evan Garcia) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None