Measles: Most Nassau Children Have Been Immunized

Submitted by Anne H. Oman
Reporter-At-Large
February 5, 2015 3:59 p.m.

Some 92.5 percent of the approximately 11,000 children in Nassau County public and private schools have received all required immunizations, including the MMR vaccine that protects against measles, according to Florida Health Department statistics compiled in November, 2013. The remaining pupils were granted exemptions due to health reasons or on religious grounds.

All states allow exemptions to school immunization for medical reasons, such as a compromised immune system. All states except Mississippi and West Virginia also give exemptions for religious reasons.

Nassau’s immunization rate is in line with State of Florida statistics, but slightly below the national average of 94.7 percent. Statewide, more than 93 percent of kindergarten pupils are vaccinated against measles, according to Dr. Tommy Schechtman, President of the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

“But,” he added, “in a time when vaccines are readily available, every child who can be should be vaccinated. It’s our best defense against this re-emerging healthcare threat and one any responsible parent or guardian should want for their child to keep them healthy.”

Locally, two clinics run by the Florida Department of Health in Nassau County are giving free measles inoculations to children from 0-19 years of age who are either uninsured or on Medicaid. The Fernandina Beach clinic (904-548-1860) is open only on Fridays, and the clinic in Yulee (904-548-1880) operates Monday through Friday. So far this year, the local clinics have vaccinated 140 children against measles, according to Mike Godwin of the Florida Department of Health in Nassau County.

The current measles outbreak started last month in California, when 105 cases were reported – all of them linked to visits to Southern California’s Disneyland in December. Earlier in 2014, 383 people in the Amish country of Ohio fell ill with measles after unvaccinated Amish missionaries returned from the Philippines.

Four cases of the disease have been found in Florida in the past few weeks, among non-resident visitors to the state. Two of the victims were international visitors.

“There are no cases of measles among Florida residents,” a spokesman for the Florida Department of Health stressed. The visitors were not quarantined, but “asked to self-isolate” he said. “They were all under doctors’ orders.”

The spokesman declined to specify what countries the international visitors were from.

People from other countries applying for refugee status or immigrant visas to enter the United States must provide proof of immunization against measles, but there is no such requirement for people traveling on tourist visas.

Measles was documented as early as the 7th century. A 10th century Persian physician called it “more dreadful than smallpox.” Prior to 1963, when the measles vaccine was first licensed in the United States, the disease was almost a rite of passage for American children. There were three to four million cases each year, and an average annual death toll of 450. Those statistics dropped dramatically after 1963, and, in 2000, federal health officials declared the disease eradicated in the United States. But measles has made a comeback in recent years, due to a since debunked 1998 study linking the measles vaccine with autism. Physicians and health officials stress that there is no cause and effect relationship between the vaccine and autism.

Measles is easily spread, through the air. Symptoms usually begin 7 to 14 days after exposure and include: a blotchy rash; fever; cough; a runny nose; red, watery eyes; and an achy, run-down feeling.

Editor’s Note: Anne H. Oman moved to Fernandina Beach from Washington, D.C. Her articles have appeared in The Washington Post, The Washington Star, The Washington Times, Family Circle and other publications. We thank Anne for her contributions to the Fernandina Observer.