Nearly two months after a deadly, massive measles outbreak in Texas was declared over, the highly contagious disease continues to spread across the country. The U.S. has now confirmed 1,596 cases this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — the highest annual number in more than three decades.
But the true total could be even higher, says Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
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He points to the current outbreak in South Carolina, where 139 schoolchildren at two schools are now subject to a 21-day quarantine after being exposed to measles.
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Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to humans. On average, an infected person will infect as many as 18 other unvaccinated people.
Before widespread vaccination, pretty much everyone got measles in childhood. And 400-500 people in the U.S. used to die from it each year.
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Kennedy endorsed the measles vaccine earlier this year. But senators from both parties have accused Kennedy of undermining vaccine access and politicizing vaccines with his approach to vaccine policy.
