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Babies too young to be vaccinated are among the most vulnerable in measles outbreaks like the one in South Carolina, which is the largest the U.S. has seen in decades. Babies lack protection against the disease and are more likely to suffer severe complications or die. They completely depend on herd immunity, which requires nearly everyone to be vaccinated. But dropping vaccination rates have eroded protection in South Carolina and across the nation. Increasingly, some policymakers and officials push a view of vaccination as an issue of individual freedom, rather than one of public health. South Carolina’s outbreak, totaling about 1,000 cases, has slowed. But measles is spreading in many states, and the U.S. on the verge of losing its status as a country that has eliminated measles.
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Thomas Compton, regional director of a network of child care centers operating across the outbreak region, speaks during an interview at Miss Tammy's Little Learning Center in Landrum, S.C., on March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Mary Conlon)
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John Otwell speaks during an interview at Miss Tammy's Little Learning Center in Landrum, S.C., on March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Mary Conlon)
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Republican State Sen. Joshua Kimbrell, who represents the area hardest hit by South Carolina's outbreak, speaks during an interview in Boiling Springs on March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Mary Conlon)
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John Otwell holds his son, Arthur, at Miss Tammy's Little Learning Center in Landrum, S.C., on March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Mary Conlon)
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John Otwell holds his son, Arthur, at Miss Tammy's Little Learning Center in Landrum, S.C., on March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Mary Conlon)
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Lauren Ellenburg, a nurse, prepares a combination measles, mumps and rubella vaccine for a 12-month-old at Tiger Pediatrics in Easley, S.C., on March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Mary Conlon)
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Daren Chandler holds his 12-month-old daughter as she has blood drawn for testing, before receiving a measles shot at Tiger Pediatrics in Easley, S.C., on March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Mary Conlon)
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Helen Kaiser holds her son at their home in Landrum, S.C., on March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Mary Conlon)
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Helen Kaiser watches her sons play at their home in Landrum, S.C., on March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Mary Conlon)