Let’s not go back to a time when children were dying of vaccine-preventable diseases
Measles has arrived in the Miami Valley and is spreading among our children. Measles is a highly contagious, and sometimes deadly disease that is making a comeback around the world. Transmission is happening right here in our community. Parents are understandably concerned. Measles can be serious, especially in young children. The good news is that we have a vaccine for children and adults that is safe and effective in preventing measles. All of us, even adults, need to be protected with measles vaccination, so that measles doesn’t infect infants too young to be vaccinated themselves.
Measles spreads in the air, like COVID-19 and the flu, but is much more contagious, lingering in the air up to 2 hours after a person with measles leaves the room. From one person who has measles, up to 9 out of 10 people will also become infected if they are not protected. It only takes a short time to go from just a few people infected to many. To keep measles from spreading, at least 95% of our population has to be immune to measles.
Measles is not just a rash. In the recent 2022 Central Ohio measles outbreak, 4 in 10 infected children needed to be hospitalized. Complications of measles include dehydration, pneumonia, encephalitis (brain inflammation), and death. Before the introduction of measles vaccine in 1963 and widespread vaccination, measles caused about 2.6 million deaths each year worldwide. To put that number in perspective, that’s about the number of children who live in Ohio today.
Have you ever read any books by Roald Dahl? How about your children? Roald Dahl is the well-known author of many popular children’s books, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, the BFG and many others. Several of his books are dedicated to his daughter Olivia, who died of measles encephalitis at the age of 7 years old in 1962, tragically just one year before the first measles vaccine was licensed for public use. Dahl urged parents to vaccinate their children against measles and shared that the risk from being infected with measles far outweighs the risk of vaccination. Dahl wrote “there would be more chance of your child choking to death on a chocolate bar than of becoming seriously ill from a measles immunization”.
For over 60 years, we have had extremely effective measles vaccines available. Just one dose of MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine provides 93% protection. The second dose provides 97% lifetime protection against measles.
Measles vaccines have been so successful at preventing disease, that sustained measles transmission was eliminated in the United States in 2000. Measles elimination in the U.S. is in jeopardy if measles cases continue to spread. Despite much progress internationally, measles is still common in many parts of the world, where vaccination rates are lower.
The COVID-19 pandemic setback global efforts to boost measles vaccination rates, and left millions of children everywhere unprotected. As the world responded to the pandemic, routine vaccine appointments were missed and global measles vaccination campaigns were paused. In 2024, lower measles vaccination rates and increased travel contribute to outbreaks around the world, including in the United States.
In Ohio, children are required to have documentation of 2 doses of measles vaccination when entering kindergarten. According to 2022 data from the Ohio Department of Health, in Montgomery County, 88% of entering kindergarten students were vaccinated against measles. With community vaccination rates below 95%, it is difficult to prevent and control outbreaks.
For our community to be protected, we all need to make sure we have documentation of immunity from vaccination, previous infection, or birth prior to 1957. Encourage friends and family to check their records for proof they have been vaccinated too. Let’s not return to the time of children dying of vaccine-preventable diseases. By maintaining a high level of measles vaccination in the Miami Valley, we protect ourselves, and we protect each other.