All services except Vital Records, Food Protection Services and the Water Lab will be unavailable at the James O. Goodwin Health Center on Dec 9-10 due to boiler repair. We apologize for the inconvenience.
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As we enjoy the advancements of modern medicine, it’s crucial to remember the battles we’ve fought to get here. Measles, once nearly eradicated, is making a comeback. Why? Collective amnesia and generational dissonance.
Many of us have forgotten or never experienced the devastating impact of measles. This gap in memory leads to complacency and vaccine hesitancy, putting our most vulnerable at risk.
Trends in Disease Reemergence:
In recent years, we’ve seen a troubling increase in measles cases globally.
Outbreaks are occurring in areas with declining vaccination rates.
The misinformation about vaccines has contributed significantly to this trend.
Reflection:
Have you or your family been vaccinated?
Do you know the facts about measles and its risks?
How can you help ensure the health and safety of your community?
Call to Action:
Get Informed: Educate yourself and others about the importance of measles vaccination.
Vaccinate: Ensure you and your loved ones are up-to-date on vaccinations.
Spread the Word: Share accurate information and dispel myths about vaccines.
To explore this topic further, dive into the further details and resources. Each year, the Oklahoma State Department of Health and the State Department of Education assess vaccination coverage in public and private kindergartens. For the 2022-2023 school year, data from 84% of public and 57% of private schools showed that 87% of public and 79% of private school kindergartners were fully vaccinated. Immunization exemption rates were 4.6% for public schools and 6.5% for private schools. The highest vaccination rates were for Varicella and Hepatitis B, while MMR (Combination vaccine of Measles, Mumps, and Rubella) had the lowest coverage.
Nationally, the CDC reports, from 2019–2022, vaccination rates among kindergartners dropped from 95% to around 93%, with recent data showing exemptions exceeding 5% in ten states. This trend raises the risk of measles and other vaccine-preventable outbreaks. And despite being 93% vaccinated, the rise in exemptions highlights a worrying trend. The collective amnesia around the severity of diseases like measles threatens our progress.
For measles, herd immunity typically requires a vaccination coverage rate of about 95%. This high percentage is necessary because measles is highly contagious; it can spread quickly among susceptible individuals, making it essential for a large proportion of the population to be immune to prevent outbreaks.
The 95% threshold for herd immunity helps ensure that there are not enough susceptible individuals to sustain the transmission of the virus, thus protecting those who cannot be vaccinated, such as infants and immunocompromised individuals. This level of coverage effectively creates a protective buffer, reducing the likelihood of measles outbreaks.
For perspective here is a map of the US and how Oklahoma compares to other states and to the herd immunity goal:
