In an effort to prevent the spread of measles locally, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday, June 10 to launch a program that includes stepping up vaccinations and adding more education programs since nearly 100% of the cases arise from people who are not vaccinated.
The United States is experiencing the worst measles outbreak in recent years, the supervisors reported. As of May 16, 1,024 measles cases have been confirmed in 31 jurisdictions, including California. There have been 11 confirmed cases in the state and four of those were in Los Angeles County as of May 12, the county reported.
One recent case involved a county resident who recently traveled internationally. The county Department of Public Health is interviewing 700 people who may have been in contact and therefore, been exposed. They are determining if they have been vaccinated or are immune because they had the measles. If neither, or they don’t know, they’ll need a blood test and may need to quarantine for 21 days.
The supervisors voted 5-0 to construct a plan for its health department to give out vaccinations to adults and children and to track vaccination coverage. Tracking vaccinations and pinpointing areas with low vaccine rates is something not done for measles vaccines.
“I believe it is critical the county continue to identify opportunities to keep county residents safe from measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs),” said Supervisor Hilda Solis, who authored the motion.
Making things more difficult is misinformation on the internet about the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, which is both a safe and highly effective method for preventing people from getting measles and spreading the disease, the county reported.
Meanwhile, 63% of adults and 61% of parents have been exposed to the false claim that the MMR vaccine causes autism, which the county DPH and an overwhelming number of doctors and medical institutions say is completely without…
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