Kentucky Chief Medical Officer and Commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health Dr. Steven Stack says measles used to kill hundreds of children a year in the United States, but with the advent of vaccination the disease was declared eliminated in 2000.
Stack says the disease has made a resurgence, however, “because there are some communities who have chosen not to get vaccinated and because of misinformation.”
“It’s unfortunate because the United States of America may no longer be able to claim that it has eliminated measles, and this means now that vulnerable children and other children who haven’t been immunized are going to be exposed to a disease that could cause them significant harm,” Stack said. “A lot of kids end up being hospitalized for things like pneumonia and dehydration. Thankfully, it doesn’t kill high numbers of people, but if lots of kids get sick, then some portion of them will die from the illness.”
Stack says the best defense against measles is a simple one.
“Two doses of vaccine 97 percent guarantees you will not get measles,” Stack said. “Not just that it’s mild measles. You just will not even get measles if you have two doses of childhood measles vaccine, so it’s really, really important that parents have their child get the MMR immunization as a child along with their other routine immunizations.”
The most recent data for Kentucky kindergartners shows the MMR immunization rate is just under 87 percent. Stack says he encourages parents to talk with their primary care provider to learn more about the vaccine.
“It just troubles me that folks are misleading and confusing the American people about vaccines,” Stack said. “They are incredibly safe. The diseases are far more dangerous if you get them without having been vaccinated, and there’s virtually no risk for most of these vaccines.”
The Lincoln Trail District Health Department offers the MMR vaccine at all of their health centers. Contact the health department or your primary care provider for more information.