Measles outbreaks are raising new concerns in schools across the United States as the CDC reports the highest annual number of cases in more than three decades.
The year is not over yet, but the U.S. has already surpassed the highest number of measles cases recorded in 30 years, a record previously set in 2019.
Measles was considered eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, but the disease has made a steady comeback, fueled by ongoing cases and several major outbreaks.
With the new school year underway, health officials are closely monitoring the situation.
The CDC says an average of 27 new measles cases have been reported each week since the end of August.
So far this year, there have been more than 1,500 cases nationwide across 41 states.
This pattern means measles has become like a game of whack-a-mole, popping up randomly and always carrying the risk of triggering larger outbreaks.
Measles cases are climbing again, impacting students in many states.
In South Carolina, more than 150 unvaccinated children between two schools have been forced into quarantine for three weeks after exposure to the disease.
This quarantine period covers the time it could take for symptoms like fever, cough, or rash to appear.
Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said, “You have to then stay away from school for three weeks, which is going to hurt your ability to learn. And so hundreds of children now are suffering the fact that they aren’t going to be able to go to school. And that’s just one of the many consequences I think, of these kinds of outbreaks.”
An outbreak is also growing in the Minneapolis-St. In the Paul area, 118 students are under quarantine, according to health officials.
A measles exposure temporarily closed a preschool in central Ohio.
One of the largest multistate outbreaks continues along the Arizona-Utah border, with more than 100 people diagnosed.
An NBC News investigation found notable declines in childhood vaccination rates in 77% of counties and jurisdictions since 2019.
Critics point to mixed messaging from the Trump administration regarding vaccines.
Donald Trump recently suggested breaking up the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine into three separate shots.
The CDC’s published recommendations state the MMR vaccine is very safe and effective, and there is no link between the MMR vaccine and autism.
As winter approaches, health experts warn the situation may worsen.
In Michigan, there have been 28 cases in 10 different counties this year.
Although the number is lower than in other parts of the country, even a single case in a poorly vaccinated community can trigger a larger outbreak.
When asked if it is possible to get the MMR vaccine in three separate doses, Local 4’s Dr. Frank McGeorge responded, “No, it has been a combination vaccine for at least the past 50 years. And it’s been proven to be safe and effective. This call to break it up seems to be based on an overextension of some legitimate data that suggested giving the chickenpox vaccine with the MMR increased the risk of febrile seizures. To be clear, there is no similar concern over the MMR vaccine.”