CDC Report: Most Kindergartners Get Vaccinated

Friday, August 24th, 2012

Last school year, most kindergarteners in the United States received the recommended vaccines for measles and other diseases, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

But the CDC also warned that pockets of unvaccinated children could set the stage for disease outbreaks.

From Reuters:

Last year, there were 17 outbreaks of measles and 222 measles cases in the United States, the highest since 1996, the CDC said.

Most of the cases involved unvaccinated patients who contracted measles in other countries, highlighting the importance of high vaccination rates among U.S. school children, said Dr. Melinda Wharton, deputy director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

“It is of concern when we have these communities in the United States where there’s enough people who have made this decision [not to vaccinate] that if the measles virus is imported from overseas, that it could actually spread and cause an outbreak,” Wharton said.

All 50 states offer medical exemptions to vaccines, and some states provide religious and philosophical exemptions as well, Wharton said.

Reuters continued:

Some parents who skip or delay vaccines for their children cite safety concerns, such as the belief of a link between vaccines and autism. The CDC says research has not uncovered a link between the two.

“Based on all the science that has been done to date, and there’s been a lot of it, there’s no evidence that vaccines are a causal factor,” Wharton said.

Image: Boy receiving shot via Shutterstock.

CDC: 2011 Was Worst Measles Year Since 1996

Friday, April 20th, 2012

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported today that the number of measles cases in the U.S. is at its highest level in 15 years.  The increase is believed to be due to falling vaccination rates in Europe, with Americans catching the highly contagious disease from Europeans or during travel.

The Associated Press reports that the 222 cases in 2011 was significantly higher than the 60 cases that are seen in a typical year:

It causes a fever, runny nose, cough and a rash all over the body. In rare cases, measles can be deadly, and is particularly dangerous for children. Infection can also cause pregnant women to have a miscarriage or premature birth.

No measles deaths were reported in the U.S. last year; the last one occurred in 2003. But about a third of the 2011 cases were hospitalized, and one child was touch-and-go for about a week before finally recovering, one CDC official said.