DPH, Prisma Health Officials Highlight Importance of Vaccinations During Immunization Awareness Month Event

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Aug. 19, 2025

COLUMBIA, S.C. — As part of National Immunization Awareness Month, the South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) and Prisma Health held a press conference today at Prisma Health Children’s Hospital—Upstate focusing on the importance of vaccines and how they help to protect people of all ages from many different diseases, including measles.

Vaccines are safe and effective when it comes to preventing serious diseases in both children and adults. This year’s event focused on the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps, and rubella.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that children get two doses of the MMR vaccine:

• the first dose at age 12 to 15 months, and
• the second dose at age 4 to 6 years, before they start school.

Measles is very contagious and spreads easily when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Up to 9 out of 10 people who have not had measles or the MMR vaccine can get sick if they are around someone with measles. Getting two doses of the MMR vaccine is 97% effective at preventing measles.

“The best way to protect yourself and your children from measles is get two doses of the MMR vaccine,” said Dr. Edward Simmer, interim DPH director. “When a community has high rates of MMR vaccination, having over 95% of school aged children vaccinated, it is very unlikely that measles would spread in the community. Communities with lower vaccination rates are at risk for disease spread.”

Additionally, people born before 1957 are generally considered to have presumed immunity to measles and do not need a vaccine. Measles was highly prevalent during that time and was so contagious that most are presumed to have contracted it during this time.

Although measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, there have been 1,356 confirmed cases and 32 outbreaks confirmed in 2025 so far. Cases have occurred this year in 41 states, including South Carolina. According to the CDC, large measles outbreaks are possible when travel-related measles cases reach at-risk U.S. populations with low immunization against measles.

People most at risk of serious illness and complications from measles include children under 5 years old, pregnant women, and individuals with a weakened immune system.

“Vaccines have been the most impactful preventative health measure ever available for children,” said Dr. Robin LaCroix, a pediatric infectious disease specialist and medical director of Prisma Health Children’s Hospital—Upstate. “Vaccines are truly an example of ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,’ and, as parents, we have the opportunity to help protect our children from diseases that are unseen and readily transmitted in everyday activities.”

While vaccines are important for children, adults benefit from vaccines, too. It’s important to stay current on all recommended immunizations. Staying up to date on vaccines for shingles, pneumococcal pneumonia, mpox, flu, RSV and others can also protect your health and that of those around you. Many adult vaccines are recommended at certain ages or for certain risk groups. Talk with your health care provider to determine which vaccines are right for you and to make sure you are up to date on your shots. They can provide you with the best, most accurate information.

During Tuesday’s event, DPH announced that Dr. Kathleen Cartmell, Associate Research Professor at Clemson University in the Department of Public Health Services, was selected by DPH and the S.C. Immunization Coalition as the Association of Immunization Managers’ 2025 South Carolina Immunization Champion Award winner. Cartmell has conducted a wide range of vaccination programs with church networks and cooperative extension programs that serve rural communities to provide education about vaccinations and to address common misperceptions about vaccination.

Cartmell has also developed and implemented a curriculum with the Clemson Extension program to provide education about childhood vaccines and to introduce adolescents to opportunities for STEM careers related to vaccination such as being a lab scientist, epidemiologist, behavioral scientist or healthcare provider. Several of the training programs Cartmell developed are now being adopted by the national Cooperative Extension Service as training resources for states across the country.

To view the full press conference, visit DPH’s Facebook page.

Visit prismahealth.org for the latest information from Prisma Health.

###