- MMR vaccine coverage across the United States was 93.1% between 2022 and 2023
- Sixth case of measles confirmed at South Florida school
- READ MORE: WHO warns that half of the world faces a high risk of measles outbreaks
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MMR vaccine coverage across the United States is below the safety goal for the third year in a row.
Coverage has fallen another two percent between the 2019-2021 school year and the 2022-2023 school year, according to the CDC, meaning approximately a quarter of a million kindergartens are at risk of measles infection across the United States. .
The 93.1 percent rate during the 2022-23 school year is lower than the 95 percent rate in the 2019-2020 school year, leaving measles coverage below the national goal of 95 percent for the third year consecutive.
It comes as a sixth case of measles is confirmed at an elementary school in South Florida.
Cold-like symptoms, such as fever, cough, and runny or stuffy nose, are often the first sign of measles.
The above shows measles cases year after year in the United States.
School vaccine exemptions also reached a record high, topping five percent in ten states.
As of February 15, a total of 20 measles cases had been reported in 11 jurisdictions in Arizona, California, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
In the most recent outbreak in Florida, six children have tested positive for measles so far.
About 33 of the school’s 1,067 students have not received either dose of the MMR vaccine, Dr. Peter Licata, superintendent of Broward County Public Schools, said Wednesday.
Doctors first learned of a case of measles (a third grader with no travel history) on Friday, February 16.
Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital, told ABC News: “The lack of travel history in the measles cases suggests we are likely seeing local transmission, underscoring the serious risk to the community.” “.
“Measles is very contagious and due to its long incubation period of 11 to 12 days, there is a high probability that more children will become infected without showing symptoms yet.
“This situation is alarming and requires immediate public health intervention to prevent further spread.”
Measles is a highly contagious airborne virus that primarily affects children under five years of age.
It can be prevented with two doses of the MMR vaccine and more than 57 million deaths have been prevented since 2000, according to the WHO and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The two recommended doses of the MMR vaccine are 97 percent effective against measles, the CDC reports.
One dose is 93 percent effective.
But measles vaccination rates have been declining, and more and more young children are entering schools unvaccinated.
Millions of people may not have received vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic, when health systems were overwhelmed and fell behind on routine vaccinations for preventable diseases.
If an unvaccinated child is exposed to measles, he or she should be given the MMR vaccine as soon as possible.
If given within 72 hours of initial exposure, the injection may offer some protection against measles or reduce the severity of the disease.