GREENVILLE, S.C. —

The South Carolina Department of Public Health has reported that 139 students are quarantining at home as a measles outbreak continues in the Upstate, where vaccination rates are the lowest in the state.

State data shows that the Upstate has the highest percentage of religious exemptions and the lowest vaccination rate among students compared to other regions in South Carolina.

"When that vaccination coverage level starts to drop to about the 90% level, which is well below 95%, the level that is most effective in providing herd immunity, it does cause us great concern," Epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell said.

Bell explained medical exemptions are issued by a health care provider, typically for one or more vaccines, while religious exemptions are choices made by parents t

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