March for Life attendees may have been exposed to measles, DC Health warns

Thousands of people attend the annual March for Life rally on Jan. 23 in Washington, D.C. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images hide caption

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Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Health officials are warning that confirmed cases of measles may have spread at this year's National March for Life rally and concert in Washington, D.C.

Thousands of anti-abortion demonstrators converged upon the National Mall and other locations in the nation's capital for the annual event at the end of January. The DC Department of Health says it's working to identify people who are at risk.

"DC Health was notified of multiple confirmed cases of measles whose carriers visited multiple locations in the District while contagious," the agency said in a press release on Sunday. "DC Health is informing people who were at these locations that they may have been exposed."

Potential exposure sites from Jan. 21 to Feb. 2 include major transit such as Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Union Station, an Amtrak Northeast Regional train and D.C.'s subway system, according to DC Health. The agency says infected individuals also visited the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and Catholic University.

Children's National Hospital issued a public health notice concerning potential exposure in its Emergency Department. The notice said a Virginia resident, who was confirmed to have measles, visited the department while contagious on Feb. 2.

The U.S. is dealing with its biggest measles outbreak in decades. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 733 confirmed measles cases in 20 states so far this year alone, as of last Thursday. According to the CDC, 95% of the cases involved people who are unvaccinated or their vaccination status is unknown.

South Carolina's outbreak started in October 2025 and quickly surpassed an outbreak in Texas. Cases in South Carolina continue to grow. The Department of Public Health reported 44 new confirmed cases on Friday, bringing the total in the state to 920. Earlier last week, officials in the state reported that the rate of new confirmed cases had slowed. They warn that people may have been exposed in this latest round of new cases in several locations, including a Target store in Taylors, S.C., and the Social Security Administration in Spartanburg, S.C. The outbreak is centered in Spartanburg.

In an interview on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz urged Americans to receive measles vaccinations. In recent months, the Trump administration has rolled back the number of diseases it recommends immunizations for, but federal guidance for measles immunizations has not changed.

Global health officials are concerned about the spreading of measles in the United States. The World Health Organization's Pan American Health Organization has invited the U.S. to meet in April to review the country's measles elimination status. The U.S. is in danger of losing its status as a country that has eradicated the disease. The Trump administration said it formally completed its withdrawal from the WHO last month.

D.C.'s Health Department is advising anyone possibly exposed who is not fully vaccinated or has a compromised immune system to contact the health department or health care provider.