Back to School, But Are Kids Protected from Measles?

STATEWIDE — Some families are concerned about their child’s health while they’re at school as measles is spreading again.

According to a recent federal study, 92.4% of U.S. kindergarteners received their required MMR vaccine last school year, below the 95% level needed to help prevent outbreaks. With at least 2,370 cases reported, that number is the worst the country has seen since 1991.

At the same time, vaccine exemptions reached a record 4.2%.

Dr. Larry Bucshon, a former Congressman and physician, explained that when everyone was fully vaccinated up until the last five to 10 years, measles was no longer an endemic in the United States.

“The virus was eradicated for the most part because everyone was immune,” Dr. Bucshon said. “Most of the measles cases came from Americans who traveled internationally and carried the virus back with them.”

Dr. Bucshon believes the COVID-19 pandemic played a role in changing how some parents view vaccines and how much they trust medical institutions and professionals. During the pandemic, disagreements over public health guidance and growing distrust in doctors, scientists and government officials led some people to turn to politicians, media personalities and influencers for information about basic science.

Since then, doctors have seen more parents expressing concerns about vaccines, including routine childhood shots like the measles vaccine. Bucshon says that skepticism can have serious consequences, because vaccines that were once routinely accepted by parents are now facing more questions and hesitation.

“If you’re not in an area where there’s a high level of vaccination, there will be a high level of virus,” said Dr. Bucshon

Dr. Bucshon also said there has been a decline in student enrollment across the nation recently due to children not receiving required vaccinations.

Most states used to give religious and medical exemptions, but now states like Alabama, California, Florida, and even Indiana, have taken away medical exemptions. States that have removed religious exemptions include Connecticut, Maine, and Minnesota. Buchson said the main reason why these states have taken away those exemptions is because mothers and fathers were “finding loopholes to get out of giving children vaccinations.”

Dr. Bucshon mentioned that he is worried and scared for the country’s youth. With children not receiving the measles vaccine, which the United States has administered since 1912, school communites may have to inform families that their kids cannot attend their school.

“People say, well, the measles and these other childhood illnesses, they don’t cause any problems. The children get it and then they’re immune and then they move on. This is not true. There are about 100,000 children that die from measles every year worldwide. Your child can still have severe complications from childhood illnesses such as mumps, measles, and pertussis,” said Dr. Bucshon.

Dr. Bucshon is hopeful that this trend will turn around before Americans start to see complications and more deaths.