The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) is urging families to get vaccinated amid recent measles cases in multiple counties.
Four new pediatric measles cases were reported in the last week including one child in Polk County and three siblings in Buncombe County.
“People need to be aware the risk of being exposed is growing,” said Dr. Devdutta Sangvai, secretary for NCDHHS. “It’s also a reminder that measles can be very serious.”
NCDHHS said the children visited locations in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, linked to a large ongoing measles outbreak.
The child in Polk County was unvaccinated, and the three children in Buncombe had received at least one dose of the MMR vaccine, according to the state.
Complete vaccination for measles requires two doses of the MMR vaccine, usually administered during childhood. The CDC states two doses provide 97% lifetime protection against serious infection.
Families can see vaccination rates for their student’s county and individual school by using the NC Measles Vaccination Data Dashboard.
CDC data found that 96% of the 2,000 reported measles cases in 2025 were in children who were not fully vaccinated, with the majority being under 19.
“About 90% of unvaccinated individuals who are exposed will become infected, making vaccination critical in protecting individuals, families, and communities in North Carolina,” warned Dr. Kelly Kimple, the director of the NCDHHS division of public health.
Community vaccination rates of 95% or higher are needed for herd immunity against measles, otherwise known as a threshold that would prevent outbreaks.
The majority of North Carolina counties do not currently meet that benchmark.
An NBC News Data Investigation revealed North Carolina’s vaccination rates have steadily fallen for the last several years, including for MMR, despite the vaccine being required by the state to attend daycares and both public and private schools.
North Carolina’s statewide vaccination compliance dropped a critical 2.4% in four years, falling from 96% to 93.6%.
Dr. Lori Langdon, a pediatrician in Harnett County with the American Academy of Pediatrics, told WRAL low vaccination rates are being fueled by more families filing exemptions with school districts.
North Carolina currently allows for both religious and medical exemptions for immunizations.
“Personally, I have tried to encourage many times for us in North Carolina to drop the title of religious exemption, because almost never is it religious,” Langdon said. “It is philosophical and based on parents being nervous from this increase in vaccine hesitancy.”
Langdon said she encourages parents to have open conversations with a licensed medical professional and not to make decisions based on social media.
Langdon continued, “I happen to be pretty well versed in scripture myself. I wanted to know a chapter and a verse – I truly want to understand. This particular parent, when I asked the question, said they didn’t have any genuine religious reasons. They were just opposed to vaccines, and it was so easy in North Carolina to check that box.”
The same NBC News data investigation also shows Polk County has the highest nonmedical exemption rate in the state, at 14.3%. Buncombe is also among the top 10 counties with the most exemptions with 6.3%.
Wake and Durham counties have fewer exemptions with each reporting 2.4%.
Leave a Reply