In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the myth that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread. Examples include measles, COVID, flu, and polio. A top antivaxxer is HHS Secretary RFK Jr. He is part of the "Disinformation Dozen." He helped cause a deadly 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa.
As of January 13, 2026, 171 confirmed* measles cases were reported in the United States in 2026. Among these, 171 measles cases were reported by 9 jurisdictions: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia. A total of 0 measles cases were reported among international visitors to the United States.
South Carolina health officials yesterday said the state now has 434 measles cases after 124 new cases have been confirmed.
There are currently 409 South Carolinians in quarantine and 17 in isolation, with some quarantines extending to February 6. Mobile vaccine units will be active this week, and officials urge local residents to get vaccinated.
“Vaccination now can avoid long quarantines at home for those exposed to the measles virus. Vaccination within 72 hours of exposure can prevent measles infections,” the state’s department of public health said in its update.
Almost all cases come from the Upstate region in an outbreak centered in Spartanburg County that began in October and has involved exposures at several schools and churches. Spartanburg County is home to several charter schools with a significant number of students with religious exemptions from routine vaccinations.
In South Carolina, religious exemption from vaccination requires a notarized form but not a doctor’s note. One of the schools involved in the initial weeks of the outbreak, Global Academy of South Carolina, had only a 17% vaccination rate during the 2024-25 school year.
Of the 434 measles patients tracked in the past six months, 378 are unvaccinated and 47 have unknown vaccination status. Only six patients have been fully vaccinated, and three have been partially vaccinated. Two-thirds of all measles case-patients in South Carolina are between the ages of 5 and 17 (287 cases).
