There was a separate measles vaccine when I was a younger kid, I believe. I’m guessing I got that because I never had the measles and don’t remember it going around in my peer group. I did get the mumps and my siblings did too, I think.

I eventually got the MMR when I was middle school or high school age and I think it may have even been at a school vaccination clinic set up for the students. There is a subset of vaccine-hesitant parents who object to the MMR but say they would vaccinate for measles if a measles-only vaccine was still available.

Yes, that is definitely possible.

I hear things have been rough but I bet it's harder than us civilians can even imagine. Hang in there. My daughter got sick a couple weeks back. Turned out she had Covid and Flu A at the same time.

This year is crazy and I'm also worried that the worst is yet to come. Someone in my local sub posted this week about pertussis running through their family. The scary thing is their child had been vaccinated only a few months ago and the parents were both vaccinated about a year ago and they still got sick.

Wholeheartedly agree with your edit. And thank you for volunteering to help these families out!

One thing consistent in the CDC studies they publish every year on vaccine coverage is that the most undervaccinated kids are those living in poverty.

Oh, yes, didn't mean to suggest it was anything other than a minority of parents. And I tend to believe that even the vast majority of the parents who may be struggling to take great care of their kids are not doing so due to ill intent or intentional neglect. I think it's likely an indication of systemic issues rather than individual parental failure.

Also, don't want any hatred at all to be directed toward the Somali community. My only reason for bringing it up is that there will never be solutions to the problems if people don't talk about what's actually happening.

It is frustrating that this happens. I remember reading about other outbreaks starting the same way. Also, I think even if your baby is between 6-12 months old, many healthcare providers will give your child the vaccine early if they know you're planning this kind of travel with an infant. I just don't know how much awareness of that there is with parents. There definitely needs to be better outreach and education around all of this.

It's actually that none were older than 4 except the one six-year-old.

Yes, it sounds like back in June the parents of a toddler who was several months past eligibility for her first dose took her on a trip to Somalia, maybe, and she contracted measles while there. It's possible that was the start of the community spread and it's only just now being identified.

I'm suspecting Somalia because it's currently experiencing a large number of measles cases, second only to India. Couple that with Columbus having the second-largest Somali community in U.S. and you end up with a challenging situation. I hope the public health authorities can get a handle on this soon.

Global Measles Outbreaks-CDC-Updated Nov 10, 2022

Yes, it's possible this all started with this unvaccinated 17-month-old girl who back in June traveled to a country where measles is endemic.

Measles case confirmed in 17-month-old Franklin County girl; Ohio's first case since 2019 -June 16, 2022

Yes, I'm sure it's very scary for all these families. The silver lining of outbreaks like this is they often boost vaccine uptake because health departments will run mass vaccination events on weekends, etc. to increase vaccine accessibility.

The more I dig into this, I'm wondering if this outbreak started back in June and is only now being recognized to have fairly significant community spread. It seems a bit strange for it to suddenly be in so many different schools and daycare facilities.

There was an identified imported case in June in a 17-month-old toddler who had traveled out of the country. She would have been eligible for the vaccine earlier in the year, several months prior to the trip, but it sounds like her parents hadn't yet gotten it for her.

>The infected child is from Franklin County and recently traveled to a country with confirmed measles cases, ODH said.

>Columbus Public Health said the child is a 17-month-old female, who is not vaccinated against the virus. The child and her family are isolated at home.

>ODH said the state occasionally sees measles cases as the result of importations from other countries where measles remains endemic.

Measles case confirmed in 17-month-old Franklin County girl; Ohio's first case since 2019-June 16, 2022

I think they allow exemptions. This outbreak sounds like it's concentrated in an immigrant group and the families probably have some obstacles to getting vaccinated due to poverty, language differences, etc. A lot of times schools and daycares will do conditional admissions where they don't require the vaccine to start attending but tell the families they do need to get the vaccines as soon as possible. Sometimes "as soon as possible" doesn't end up being very soon and kids slip through the cracks.

So I'm wondering if it's been circulating since June.

>COLUMBUS -- Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Director Bruce Vanderhoff, MD, MBA, has confirmed the state’s first measles case of 2022. The infected child is from Franklin County and recently traveled to a country with confirmed measles cases. ODH is currently not disclosing additional information about the infected individual.

>Ohio occasionally sees measles cases as the result of importations from other countries where measles remains endemic. This is the first confirmed measles case in Ohio since 2019. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that as of June 3, 2022, a total of 3 measles cases were reported by 2 jurisdictions (jurisdictions refer to any of the 50 states, New York City, and the District of Columbia).

Health director reports first measles case in Ohio-June 16, 2022

I wonder how thorough and extensive the contact tracing was.

All are younger than 4 except one that is six years old.

It's possible some are too young to be vaccinated. Kids don't get their first measles vaccine until they're 12 months old.

>Ohio Franklin County Public Health has raised alarm on rising cases of Measles in the County for the first time in almost 20 years.

>“Many of the cases have a history of recent travel to Kenya,” the Assistant Health Commissioner Director of Prevention and Wellness Alexandra Jones said in an email to the New Americans magazine.

>“We are working on developing a flyer for individuals who are traveling this holiday season to promote being up to date on vaccinations, especially MMR.”

>Also, Alexandria Jones said, “We currently have several FAQ documents and hot cards regarding measles and information on how to get vaccinated in both Somali and English.”

Franklin County raises Measles Alarm-New Americans Magazine, November 9, 2022