U.S. Measles Surge Leaves Unvaccinated Infants Highly Exposed

An Associated Press investigation details how the United States is seeing its worst measles activity in more than 35 years, with a roughly 1,000‑case outbreak centered in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, 17 separate outbreaks already this year, and 48 last year, putting the country on the brink of losing its official measles‑elimination status. The piece focuses on babies younger than 12 months who are too young for routine MMR vaccination and must rely on herd immunity, which requires about 95% coverage but has fallen below 90% in some South Carolina schools. Pediatricians there have begun using existing guidance to administer MMR earlier — at 6–9 months and accelerating the second dose — yet say state health officials will not release infant‑specific case or hospitalization data, citing confidentiality and gaps in hospital reporting. The article situates these outbreaks in a broader policy shift in which HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine opponent, has overseen major public‑health cuts while state lawmakers across the country introduce bills that would loosen school mandates and likely drive coverage even lower. Doctors warn that in this climate, infants are ‘sitting ducks’ for a virus that can cause pneumonia, brain swelling, and death, and public‑health experts online are flagging the story as evidence that U.S. measles control is eroding not just from individual hesitancy but from deliberate political decisions reshaping vaccine policy.