Healthcare providers sound alarm about lack of vaccines from kindergarten through college

Healthcare providers are sounding the alarm about a need for more students to be vaccinated as the school year begins. That goes for pre-K all the way up to college.

University of Minnesota Associate Professor of Pediatrics Emily Borman-Shoape says the start of the school year can also mean more exposure to illnesses.

"That means it's more together time for all of our students from preschool all the way through high school and college, to be together, and share space and also share their germs," Borman-Shoape says.

She says if you're a college student living on campus, there are vaccines you should consider getting right away.

Meningitis can be passed around in crowded spaces like dorms, so making sure you're up to date on your protection," she says. "And then we've also been seeing a lot of pertussis (whooping cough) cases."

In Minnesota, measles cases have risen to 49 in total and Borman-Shoape says right now education about keeping kids protected has become more important than ever. 11 people have been hospitalized from the disease since the outbreak began and 23 cases have impacted children younger than 5 years old.

"Measles is extremely contagious and being vaccinated is our best protection," Borman-Shoape says.

It's also easily preventable. The 49 measles cases is the most in the state since an outbreak in 2017 . It had become a rare disease across the U.S. but numbers have jumped due to a lack of vaccinations. Measles was basically eliminated in the U.S. in 2000 due to high vaccination rates . Most of the cases are due to it being transmitted from other countries, but can quickly spread in schools if children are not protected from it.