With 789 cases and counting, the current measles outbreak in South Carolina is now the nation’s largest since measles was officially eliminated in 2000. Measles is spreading especially quickly among unvaccinated individuals—692 of the South Carolina cases are in unvaccinated individuals—just as it did in the large outbreak in Texas last year, which ultimately sickened 762, hospitalized 99, and killed two children. In a December 16 email to Mother Jones, at which time South Carolina already had more than 100 cases, a spokesperson from HHS downplayed the threat of measles in South Carolina. In a press conference last week, CDC principal deputy director Ralph Abraham said of South Carolina’s outbreak, “We have these communities that choose to be unvaccinated,” he said. “That’s their personal freedom.” If the United States loses its measles elimination status, he added, that’s the “cost of doing business.”