What to do about potential measles exposure
May 7, 2019, 11:14 AM
Health officials say the beset way to stop Washington's measles outbreak is to get vaccinated. (AP image)
(AP image)
Wondering how to stop the latest measles outbreak? Health officials say it’s pretty elementary.
Danielle Koenig is the immunization health promotions supervisor with the Washington State Department of Health. She says the best advice for dealing with the measles is simple — get vaccinated.
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“The best thing you can do to protect yourself against measles is make sure you and your family are up-to-date on your MMR vaccine,” Koenig said. “That protects yourself, and it also protects those around you who are not able to get their own vaccine.”
The issue is so serious that the Washington State Department of Health maintains a measles website. Outbreaks in Southwest Washington, and the more recent potential exposure in Seattle, have many worried about a return of a disease that was largely eradicated in the U.S. a short time ago. Dr. Jeff Duchin with Seattle/King County Public Health told KIRO Radio this week that, “Bottom line is it’s very possible that we will see additional cases, however, it’s not known with certainty.”
If 95 percent of people in Washington state are vaccinated, Koenig said, then the disease has little chance of spreading anywhere. She notes that the state offers the vaccine at no cost to children under the age of 19.
Babies can be especially affected by measles. Koenig says that about 90 percent of kindergartners in Washington are up-to-date on the vaccine, and about 96 percent of sixth graders. Most adults are considered immune as they have either had the disease or the vaccine.
“The best thing is to make sure everybody else in the family who is eligible for the vaccine gets the vaccine, so they can put a protective bubble around the infant and keep the disease from reaching them,” she said.
“Even if you don’t have your own babies at home, you could see a baby at a park or run into somebody at a grocery store,” Koenig said. “So if everybody who can be vaccinated is vaccinated then we can protect people we see out in the community.”
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