Medical Moment: Measles: Who is at risk? Who needs to be vaccinated?

14 Feb Medical Moment: Measles: Who is at risk? Who needs to be vaccinated?

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Dr. Sharon Grundy

Dr. Sharon Grundy answers this week’s question: Measles: Who is at risk? Who needs to be vaccinated?

Everyone is asking about measles. And for good reason! It’s really important that our community understand who is at risk and who needs to be vaccinated.

Colorado kindergartners have the lowest vaccination rate for measles in the U.S., an unsettling distinction that has everyone here at the Telluride Medical Center (TMC) working hard to clarify who is at risk and who needs to be vaccinated.

Basically, if you’ve been immunized or have had the measles before, you’re protected from contracting or carrying the virus. If you or your child has not been vaccinated, we want to hear from you.

The more our population is vaccinated, the better we can protect those too young to have been immunized, people with compromised immune systems and unvaccinated pregnant women.

The recent measles outbreak has raised serious concerns from health professionals that the virus could once again gain a foothold in the U.S. Communities with low vaccination rates are at particular risk.

Prior to 1963, when the vaccination was released to the public, 3 – 4 million cases of measles, a virus of the paramyxouvirus family, were reported in the U.S. each year. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 90 percent of the population had contracted measles by the age 15.

In 2004 the U.S. had only 37 reported cases of the virus, the least on record. On average, since 2001, the U.S. records 67 cases a year. Due to the recent outbreak stemming from California, over 100 measles cases have been reported in 14 states, including at least one in Colorado.

The threat of a serious rise in measles cases is real. Colorado is one of 20 states that allow parents to claim personal opposition to immunization programs. According to the CDC, only 81 percent of Colorado students entering kindergarten last year had received both their MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccinations. Most states have rates of 95 percent and 17 states report less than 90 percent of children having received at least one dose.

France experienced a rapid increase of measles infection rates peaking in 2011 at over 10,000 cases, up from only 40 in 2008. Keep reading…

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