With the state of Oregon facing its biggest measles outbreak since 2019, health officials from the state and Clackamas County — which has seen eight of the state’s current 25 cases — are urging unvaccinated residents to talk to their health care provider and get the vaccine.
During an online press conference Thursday, Aug. 8, health officials stressed that their plea to the unvaccinated grows more urgent with the new school year scheduled to start in the next month.
Oregon Health Authority communicable diseases and immunizations medical director Paul Cieslak said officials “don’t seen an end to the current outbreak” due to declining vaccination rates, though 25 years ago the disease was largely eradicated from the United States thanks to the effectiveness of the vaccine, which also protects against mumps and rubella.
Clackamas County Health Officer Sarah Present added that one to three of every 1,000 kids who contract measles could die.
Other than the eight measles cases confirmed in Clackamas County, 16 have been reported in Marion County and one in Multnomah County.
Present said vaccination rates of 95% will stop the spread of measles but, as of last school year, only 91% of kids entering kindergarten in Clackamas County had received the vaccine. The vaccine rate for all K-12 students in the county last year was 94%.
“If we have a goal of 95%, for those younger kids we have a ways to go,” Present said. “Those vaccination rates are higher in public schools than in private schools. In Clackamas County, looking at all of our private schools, we’re under 80% of kindergartners (who are) fully up to date, so we have some work to do there.”
The health officials said that unvaccinated students who are exposed to the disease are required to miss 21 school days.
Present said the county was reaching out to private schools to see if they are interested in hosting vaccine events and added that there will be a vaccine fair at Clackamas County’s Gladstone Health Center from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9
Cieslak stressed that measles is highly contagious, saying that if a person with the disease coughs in a room and an unvaccinated person walks into that room an hour later they have a very high chance of catching the virus. Additionally, he said measles tends to spread because those who have it are contagious for about four days before they develop a rash.
If someone suspects they’ve contracted measles, Cieslak asked that they not show up at a clinic or urgent care without calling beforehand.
Other than the rash, symptoms of measles include fever, cough, stuffy nose and red eyes, which will usually occur before the rash.
Present emphasized the safety of the MMR vaccine, adding that myths about its connection to autism have been thoroughly debunked. The vaccine will stop about 97% of measles cases, Cieslak added. If a vaccinated person contracts measles, it will be a milder version and much less transmissible to others.
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