There have been no reported cases of measles so far this year in the state of West Virginia, and local health officials are saying that the people of West Virignia have a lot to do with that.

Ohio County Health Administrator Howard Gamble said that high vaccination rates in the Mountain State are much of the reason for not seeing any reported cases so far.

“Some of the difference can be attributed to the fact that we have a high rate of vaccination for measles. Most of that is attributed to state law, which requires all pupils entering school to be vaccinated or have an exemption,” Gamble said.

There are more opportunities for getting an exemption in Ohio, he added.

According to the Hancock County Health Department, 98% of kindergartners in West Virginia for the 2023-24 school year had completed the two-dose measles-mumps-rubella vaccine. Compare that to an 88.3% vaccination rate in Ohio. You also can compare Ohio’s nine reported cases of measles this year, a low number overall, but evidence that the disease has made its way into the state.

But either state is a far cry from South Carolina, which has seen a staggering 664 cases in 2026.

It was thought that the disease had been erradicated in the United States, but declining immunization levels around the country have allowed measles to regain a foothold. It’s a disappointing turn of events, and one that can be stopped.

Stopping it comes from getting vaccinated, which West Virginians are still doing. Let’s keep up that good work.