South Carolina Measles Outbreak Prompts CDC Intervention

United States===South Carolina is experiencing the largest measles outbreak in the United States since 1992, with nearly 1,000 cases reported. The United States===Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is deploying staff to assist the state, including disease detectives and public health experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This comes as the United States seeks to retain its measles elimination status, with the Pan American Health Organization reporting a request for postponement of its review. The outbreak highlights declining childhood immunization rates in United States===South Carolina, influenced by local political leaders and parents' criticisms of the CDC's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. New acting CDC director Jay Bhattacharya has urged vaccination, contrasting with previous acting head Jim O'Neill's unsubstantiated claims about vaccine safety and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s stance on childhood vaccines.