Health officials are urging Americans to remain vaccinated against measles, pointing to outbreaks at home and abroad and cases reported in travelers at major airports on both coasts.
The Seattle and King County Health Department in Washington state said a traveler from Arizona, whose vaccination status is unknown, was likely exposed to measles in Europe and traveled through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on May 10-11 while infectious.
A second traveler with measles spent more than three hours at Philadelphia International Airport Terminal A West on Friday, possibly infecting others.
Measles is a highly contagious disease that spreads through droplets from coughing or sneezing. Symptoms include a high fever, cough, runny nose and a rash.
“If you don’t have immunity, you can get it just by being in a room where a person with measles has been,” said Dr. Eric Chow, the communicable disease chief for public health for Seattle and King County. “We’ve seen an increase in measles cases around the world and in the U.S., so it’s an important time to check your vaccination status and get vaccinated if you aren’t protected.”
The measles vaccine is highly effective. Many children get about 97% protection from two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
Health officials in Seattle and Philadelphia said persons who aren’t vaccinated should speak to their health providers about getting the shots. They also stressed that parents should review their young children’s status before traveling abroad.
It’s not just overseas. Domestic outbreaks have struck in recent years.
A notable outbreak swept through parts of Rockland County, New York, in 2019, and Minnesota battled an outbreak in fall 2022. Later that year, an outbreak in central Ohio infected dozens of kids, underscoring the impact of lagging vaccination rates.
Some health officials blame a shift in attitudes around vaccines after the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated uproar over mandates.
More than a third of parents said vaccinating children against measles, mumps and rubella should be a personal choice and not a requirement for school attendance, according to a KFF poll in December 2022.
It was a notable increase from the 23% of parents who responded similarly to a Pew Research Center poll in 2019.
Today, officials in Seattle and Philadelphia said they do not think there is a major risk to the broader public after their airport scares.
However, “many countries, including travel destinations, are experiencing measles outbreaks, so the potential for travel-related measles cases and subsequent outbreaks in the United States has increased,” said Dr. Landrus Burress, director of disease control in Philadelphia. “We strongly encourage parents to follow the [Centers for Disease Control’s] immunization schedule and get their children fully vaccinated as soon as they are able.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.