Thousands of US schools at risk of measles outbreak: Report

The virus was declared eradicated in the US in 2000
Low vaccination rates among are children are to blame, experts say
Cases of the virus spiked by more than 40% globally last year

Updated: Jan 31, 2024 / 11:12 AM CST

(NewsNation) — Amid a surge of measles cases in the United States and United Kingdom, a CBS investigation has found at least 8,500 schools have concerning vaccination rates among kindergartners.

According to the CBS report, the percentage of kindergartners vaccinated against measles is below 95% in the thousands of discovered schools. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sets 95% as the threshold for protecting a population against the virus.

The highly infectious disease triggered epidemics in 37 countries last year, versus 22 countries in 2021. It sickened 9 million children and killed 136,00, mostly in poorer countries, WHO and the CDC said in a report.

The spike in cases is especially concerning to health professionals as measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000.

Cases of the virus spiked by more than 40% globally last year and rose after vaccination levels dramatically dropped during the pandemic, leading health agencies said in November.

Experts say more parents are questioning routine childhood vaccinations that they used to automatically accept, an effect of the political schism that emerged during the pandemic around COVID-19 vaccines.