More than 920 people in South Carolina have been infected with measles as the outbreak expands, with smaller clusters of cases now reported in Florida, Arizona, and Utah. The growing number of infections comes as the chair of a key federal advisory panel suggested that vaccination against measles and polio should be a matter of personal choice.
Kirk Milhoan Jha, chair of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), recently stated his belief that the measles and polio vaccines should be optional, according to reports. This position has drawn sharp criticism from public health officials who warn of a potential resurgence of preventable diseases.
Dr. Ashish Jha, former dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health, warned that removing vaccine mandates would lead to increased deaths from measles and a likely return of polio infections. “Removing those vaccine mandates will mean not only more children dying of measles, but a near-certain return of polio infections — all preventable with vaccines that have long been determined safe and effective,” Jha said.
The outbreak in South Carolina is centered in Spartanburg County, where pediatrician Stuart Simko has treated six cases of measles in the past two months – the first he has seen in practice. Before last year, Simko said he had only encountered measles through historical case studies. He described the illness as “a terrible, terrible disease that can cause mortality,” and emphasized the importance of vaccination. As of February 3, 2026, the South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) reported a total of 876 cases related to the Upstate outbreak, with 29 new cases reported since Friday.
The current outbreak marks the largest number of measles cases in the U.S. Since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000. The United States now risks losing its elimination status, following similar experiences in the United Kingdom, and Canada. A measles outbreak in Texas last year resulted in the deaths of two school-aged children.
Kate Martin, a resident of Spartanburg County, described the situation as reminiscent of the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that cases were appearing in different schools daily. The CDC’s Milhoan previously suggested that outbreaks like the one in South Carolina, affecting 700 people, would provide “real world” data on vaccine effectiveness given low uptake rates in the 2020s.
