\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n \tRelated story \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tThe CDC’s Controversial Vaccine Guidelines Got Struck Down in Court. What Does It Mean For Your Family?\t\t<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n \t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/article>\n \t \n\tIt\u2019s no mystery why measles is surging: MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccination rates have plunged since the COVID-19 pandemic. \u201cApproximately 9% of the U.S. population is unvaccinated from MMR, and measles is a highly contagious virus,\u201d explains immunologist Dr. Frederic Bertley, president of Ohio\u2019s Center of Science and Industry, who played a key role in that state\u2019s COVID vaccine response. To achieve herd immunity, we need rates to be around 94 to 95%. When the number drops to where it is now, Bertley says, \u201cthe measles pathogen will \u2018find\u2019 these exposed and unprotected individuals and spread.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tOf course, the heartbreaking part is that the vast majority \u2014 about 90 percent of cases nationwide \u2014 are among young people<\/a>, 19 years old and younger, Bertley says. Among those, 20 percent are in kids under 5 years old. \u201cFirst and foremost, this is horrible to have morbidity and occasional mortality in young populations who (for the majority of the cases) did not have a say in their vaccination status,\u201d he says. \u201cSecond, the impact on social and financial impact on healthcare and additional strain on our medical system could have been avoided.\u201d Outbreaks can also lead to school closures, quarantine measures, and other disruptions that affect the wider community, vaccinated or not.<\/p>\n \n\tFor Bertley, the huge case counts have been disheartening. \u201cThe U.S. has been a leader in vaccine research and development over the past two centuries,\u201d he says. In 2000, the CDC and World Health Organization (WHO) declared measles officially eliminated in the US, thanks to the MMR vaccine. The US may lose that elimination status<\/a> this year.<\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s clear that the anti-vax rhetoric popularized by the pandemic has taken its toll, spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy, the head of the Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy has downplayed the risks<\/a> of measles and passed along misleading information, like the myth that the MMR vaccine \u201cwanes\u201d in effectiveness every year (there\u2019s no evidence of this \u2014 and outbreaks would be much worse if it did).<\/p>\n \n\tMeasles is highly contagious, with symptoms that include red eyes, a cough, runny nose, a high fever and a red rash<\/a> that spreads all over the body. It\u2019s especially dangerous for unvaccinated people, 1 in 5 of whom will be hospitalized if they contract measles, per the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tThe MMR vaccine remains the best way to protect yourself and your family from measles, especially as schools get ready to start up again this month. \u201cSpeak to your certified primary care physician or pediatrician, ask them all the questions you wish regarding vaccination safety, protocols and efficacy rates, and then vaccinate your children for MMR,\u201d says Dr. Bertley. \u201cGetting sick is no fun, and an otherwise healthy child should not go through the experience of being very ill because of a conscious decision made by their parent or adult guardian.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"Nurse](\"https:\/\/www.sheknows.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-sheknows-2020\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
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