By: Peyton Saunders | Staff Writer
The rash characteristic of measles consists of flat red spots that typically start at the hairline and spread down. Photo by Natalya Maisheva/Getty Images
On February 16, 2026, the Virginia Department of Health announced that eight cases of measles had been confirmed in Northern Virginia, and the total number of cases in Virginia has since risen to 10 as the disease continued to spread across the country.
Vaccination Rates and Public Health Guidance
With measles cases on the rise, Dr. Cali Anderson, the senior epidemiologist at the Virginia Department of Health, suggests that the best thing people can do is get vaccinated.
According to the Virginia Department of Health news release, “Virginia has high measles vaccination rates, with approximately 95% of kindergarteners fully vaccinated against measles.”
Vaccination rates are slightly lower with older populations, according to Anderson, and many people in these groups may be undervaccinated, where they have received one or two of the vaccines but not the complete series, making them more vulnerable than the fully vaccinated population.
“Measles doesn’t play by the rules, and measles spreads like crazy,” said Anderson.
The disease is highly contagious, Anderson said, “If you were in a room of 10 people that were not immune, nine of those people are going to get measles just from you walking into the room.”
Vaccination rates have been consistently high, and the disease was considered eradicated in America in 2000. Many students are unaware of the effects or symptoms.
According to Anderson, measles initially presents with a runny nose, red, watery eyes, and a cough. These symptoms can easily be mistaken for a variety of illnesses, including COVID and influenza, but Anderson explains that this is actually the most infectious stage of measles.
“The infectious period lasts about 24 hours before the fever begins, which is usually about four days before the rash begins. So, it’s about eight days of an infectious period, but it makes it very tricky because usually people don’t start thinking ‘measles’ until you see that rash.”
Carriers of measles can spread the disease to anyone who is unvaccinated or undervaccinated for up to four days before they even know they have the disease. Anderson believes that while staying home when sick, washing hands, and masking when needed are certainly helpful, the vaccine is simply the best way to avoid catching the illness and spreading it to others.
Lynchburg Vaccine Policies
According to the Director of Health Services at HornetCare, Jessica Melin, “Measles, mumps and rubella [MMR vaccine] are required in order to go to public school in the state of Virginia, and so most of our students are all vaccinated against it.”
Melin added that religious and medical exemptions are allowed. The medical exemption includes the immunocompromised, those who have a disease like leukemia, HIV, or lupus, or those who have organ transplants and therefore need to take immunosuppressants.
The University of Lynchburg allows these exemptions as long as the exemption form is completed and a doctor’s note is provided if applicable. Other vaccines, such as meningococcal, are not required, but students must complete another form confirming they understand the risks.
In either case, students who fall under the few religious exemptions allowed are not necessarily allowed to stay on campus, and those who reject vaccines, such as meningococcal, are required to leave campus during outbreaks to curb the spread.
The University of Lynchburg and the Virginia Department of Health work together during outbreaks. Melin explained that if measles became a threat on campus, they would reach out to their contact at the Virginia Department of Health and follow their guidelines.
The Virginia Department of Health also sometimes comes to campus to run vaccine events. Melin recalls when they set up a polio vaccine clinic on campus for a short period of time and they also did a meningococcal vaccine clinic for the University of Virginia.
Map of measles outbreaks by state in 2026 as of February 19. Map from CDC.
Growing Vaccine Hesitancy
Despite these interventions, vaccine rates continue to decline nationwide. Dr. Rachel Seccia, a University of Lynchburg professor based in Denver, teaches the online courses Ethical Issues in Public Health and Public Health Research, and explained what she has learned from her conversations with people opposed to vaccines.
“You have to be very careful about making sure that you respect the individual and their autonomy, and the truth is that this is a very contentious type of conversation that we have with people who are vaccinated or unvaccinated, but the truth is, it really shouldn’t be framed in this manner. It should be more of a conversation, an education piece if nothing else.”
Seccia explains that there are reasons people are skeptical of vaccines, including the Tuskegee experiment where, in the process of studying the effects of syphilis, doctors purposely left the disease untreated in a largely black population, leading to further and unnecessary health complications, as the cure, penicillin, had already been tested and approved for use 15 years into an experiment that carried on for another 25 years.
Seccia emphasized the importance of compassion when trying to convince someone to get vaccinated, as it has been shown to be the most effective method to get people to vaccinate themselves against deadly diseases such as measles, polio, and tuberculosis.
More information can be found at the Virginia Department of Health and HornetCare websites
