SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – On November 23rd, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a statement saying nearly 40 million children worldwide have missed a dose of the measles vaccine. 25 million missed their first dose and 14.7 million missed their second dose.
This leaves millions of children susceptible to infection. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, measles vaccination rates have slowly declined. This means that measles is an imminent threat in every region of the world.
According to Dr. James Alexander, Medical Director of the Onondaga County Health Department, for the last decade in Onondaga County, measles vaccine coverage has been between 98% and 99%. However, this data is based on school data, and the measles vaccine is required for kids to attend school, both public and private schools.
Dr. Alexander said in Onondaga County, the 98% to 99% vaccine coverage for measles meets the requirements to say that we have herd immunity. Herd immunity is defined as, in this case, 95% or more of the facts of the public being vaccinated against a given disease.
According to data from the CDC, in 2021 and 2022 there have been 49 and 55 measles cases respectively (as of November 17). According to Dr. Alexander, most of these infections have been associated with travel, meaning people traveling to the U.S., through the U.S., and returning from other countries.
“They were associated with international travel, meaning either people left here and went somewhere where measles is,” Alexander said.
In 2019, 1,274 cases of measles were reported in the U.S., the greatest number since 1992. According to the CDC, these outbreaks were all linked to travel-related cases that reached at-risk populations in the United States.
According to Dr. Alexander, measles is one of the most infectious diseases known. Its spread by respiratory secretions. Common measles symptoms include high fever, cough, runny nose, red, watery eyes, and a rash. Some compilations of measles are hospitalization, pneumonia, encephalitis (swelling of the brain), and death.
“If a person has measles and they’re interacting in a community of unvaccinated people, they’re going to infect between 12 and 18 people,” Alexander said.
He also said, “If you are not vaccine protected and you walk into a room where someone has measles, and nobody is masked, there’s a 9 out of 10 chance you’re going to get measles.”
According to Dr. Alexander, getting measles compromises your immune system and thereby makes you more susceptible to other infectious diseases that you may have been vaccinated against. Measles throws off the whole immune response that’s been developed over all these years.
The CDC said measles is an imminent threat in every region of the world. When I asked Dr. Alexander if measles is an imminent threat to Central New York, he said, “I think imminent is probably an overstatement. It’s definitely a threat.”
According to the CDC, to create worldwide herd immunity, coverage of 95% or greater of two doses of the measles vaccine is needed. Currently, only 81% of children have received their first dose, and only 71% of children received their second dose.
YouTube Video Resources
Measles Clinical Features and Diagnosis
What you need to know about measles vaccination
