CDC encourages vaccination despite rising US and global measles cases – US health officials are telling doctors about the sharp rise in measles cases around the world. They also tell families going to a country where measles is common to vaccinate babies as young as 6 months before they go. Monday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent a health alert to doctors to make them more aware of how measles is spreading around the world. The alert told doctors to vaccinate babies a few months earlier than usual if their patients are going to be traveling abroad.
The alert comes before the busy travel times of spring and summer. The CDC said that measles outbreaks are happening in many countries, including Austria, the Philippines, Romania, and the UK, all of which are popular holiday spots for Americans. The CDC also said that vaccine rates are too low in 36 US states. In these states, less than 95% of kindergarteners have been vaccinated against measles, which is below the threshold for herd immunity.
To stop an illness from spreading through a community, a certain percentage of people must be immunized against it. This is called “herd immunity.” But in the U.S., vaccination rates against measles are “pretty strong,” according to Dr. Nirav Shah, the senior deputy director of the CDC. This isn’t like Covid, where anyone can get it. “For vaccinated people…the chance of getting measles is thankfully not what it used to be because the vaccination rate is high,” Shah said. “However, we are worried that the number of people who have been vaccinated has dropped from 95% to 93%.”
Shah says that two percentage points might not seem like a lot, but about 250,000 kindergarteners are not covered by that amount of money. People think that the measles vaccine is one of the best ways to stay healthy. To stop an illness, two doses work about 97% of the time, while one dose works about 93% of the time. “Overwhelming scientific evidence shows that vaccines remain among the most effective and safest ways to protect public health and keep people from getting sick,” said Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld, president of the American Medical Association, in an email.
The CDC has updated its travel guidelines and now says that people who are going on a foreign trip and aren’t sure if they are fully vaccinated should see a doctor at least six weeks before their trip. In the past, it was suggested that people see a doctor at least one month before they planned to go abroad. Babies usually get their first shot against measles, mumps, and rubella when they are one year old. The CDC says that the deadline for getting vaccinated should be pushed back a few months to protect kids who aren’t immune to the very contagious disease.
The CDC also says that kids at least a year old who haven’t been vaccinated should get two shots of the measles vaccine at least 28 days apart before they go on vacation. Measles virus can stay in the air for two hours after a person who has it has left a room. People can also get sick if they touch something that has virus bits on it and then touch their eyes, nose, or mouth.
Spreading measles is possible up to four days before and after a person gets the rash. About nine out of ten people who are exposed to the virus and have never been infected or vaccinated against it will get it themselves. If you are traveling and get a rash, high fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes, you should see a doctor. However, the CDC suggests that you let the clinic know ahead of time so that they can take steps to stop the possible spread of measles.
The CDC says that there are a lot of measles cases in 46 countries right now. Of these, 26 are in Africa, 4 are in Europe, 8 are in the Middle East, 7 are in Asia, and 2 are in Southeast Asia. The US has officially stopped having measles as a common disease, but every year there are still cases brought in from other countries. Most of these cases involve unvaccinated US citizens who get sick while traveling abroad.
The US is going to have a busy year. The CDC says that there have been 58 cases of measles in 17 states so far in 2024. This is the same number of cases that were reported in all of 2023. Some of these cases were spread within the same community. In the US, new cases have been found in Arizona, California, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Chicago. The CDC is telling all people who are going to be traveling abroad that they could get measles if they haven’t had the full series of shots at least two weeks before their trip or if they have never had measles before. Anyone of any age can get very sick from measles, and it can lead to major problems like pneumonia and even death.
