Some NC elementary schools have increased risk of measles spread. Here are 5 takeaways.

About 106,000 North Carolina children in elementary school — or one in six — attend schools where the risk for measles outbreaks runs high, according to the best available state analysis. Their schools are designated high risk because fewer than 90% of kids there are vaccinated

FULL STORY: Measles is spreading: Is your child’s North Carolina school vulnerable?

Here are the highlights:

• About 106,000 North Carolina elementary students attend schools at risk of measles exposure.
• Nearly 18,000 unvaccinated children face near-certain infection if exposed at school.
• Kindergarten vaccination rates have fallen in North Carolina.
• When the number of vaccinated children falls, the risk of infection increases, experts say.
• Charlotte Observer reporter Caitlin McGlade built a dataset so that parents to search for vaccine data at elementary schools.

The summary points, based on reporting and editing by Charlotte Observer journalists, were compiled with the help of AI tools. The summaries were edited by a Charlotte Observer journalist.

This story was originally published January 20, 2026 at 5:30 AM.