{"id":531,"date":"2024-02-27T11:54:01","date_gmt":"2024-02-27T11:54:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/27\/amid-measles-outbreak-florida-is-deferring-to-parents-on-whether-to-send-unvaccinated-kids-to-school\/"},"modified":"2024-02-27T11:54:01","modified_gmt":"2024-02-27T11:54:01","slug":"amid-measles-outbreak-florida-is-deferring-to-parents-on-whether-to-send-unvaccinated-kids-to-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/27\/amid-measles-outbreak-florida-is-deferring-to-parents-on-whether-to-send-unvaccinated-kids-to-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Amid measles outbreak, Florida is \u2018deferring to parents\u2019 on whether to send unvaccinated kids to school"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Family physician and public health specialist Dr. George Rust has warned some of his colleagues about a potential measles outbreak in Florida \u201cfor at least the past year,\u201d he said, because of the rise in vaccine hesitancy in pockets of the community. <\/p>\n

Now, his fears have come true. <\/p>\n

The Florida Department of Health in Broward County is investigating multiple cases of measles as part of an outbreak at an elementary school in Weston. At least six cases have been reported at the school in the past week. <\/p>\n

Statewide, \u201cmost kids in our public schools have had the vaccine, although there\u2019s been some slippage in that in recent years. The kids who are not vaccinated, if they\u2019re exposed to measles, 90% of them will get measles. So it\u2019s a highly infectious disease, very contagious,\u201d said Rust, a professor in the Florida State University College of Medicine and director of the university\u2019s Center for Medicine and Public Health, who provides medical expertise to local public health departments. <\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo wrote in a letter to parents and guardians about the outbreak that it is \u201cnormally recommended\u201d for people who have been exposed to measles and who are not vaccinated against the virus or who do not have a history of infection to stay home for up to 21 days, the length of the incubation period for measles. However, his letter leaves that up to choice. <\/p>\n

The state health department is \u201cdeferring to parents or guardians to make decisions about school attendance,\u201d Ladapo wrote. <\/p>\n

The letter contradicts guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which states that \u201cunvaccinated children, including those who have a medical or other exemption to vaccination, must be excluded from school through 21 days after their most recent exposure.\u201d <\/p>\n

So, \u201cthere\u2019s the possibility that children who are not immunized and who are susceptible to measles are attending school, potentially getting measles and then transmitting it to other kids,\u201d Rust said. \u201cNow, you\u2019ve, on the one hand, allowed parents to make their own choices for the child who was not immunized, but you\u2019ve also taken away some choices for those parents who may feel that their children should be protected.\u201d <\/p>\n

He added that \u201cmost public health experts\u201d would agree that excluding unvaccinated children from the classroom during a measles outbreak protects that child from infection while reducing the risk of the virus spreading. <\/p>\n

Measles\u00a0is a highly contagious disease that can lead to complications and turn deadly,\u00a0according to the\u00a0CDC.\u00a0Symptoms may include fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes and a rash of red spots. In rare cases, it may lead to pneumonia, encephalitis or death. Measles also can weaken the immune system and may \u201cdelete\u201d its immune memory. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe CDC recommendations are telling us the right thing to do,\u201d Rust said. \u201cFor the parents, keep your kid at home if they\u2019re not immunized, and maybe go get them immunized.\u201d <\/p>\n

Experts\u00a0recommend\u00a0that children get the measles, mumps and rubella or MMR vaccine in two doses: the first between 12 months and 15 months of age, and a second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is about 93% effective at preventing\u00a0measles\u00a0if you come into contact with the virus. Two doses are about 97% effective. <\/p>\n

Nationwide, about 92% of US children have gotten the MMR vaccine by age 2, according to a\u00a02023 report\u00a0from the CDC \u2013 below the federal target of 95%. <\/p>\n

\u201cLocal transmission of\u00a0measles\u00a0had been largely eliminated in the US, but we see sporadic outbreaks, especially when immunization levels drop even a little bit,\u201d Rust said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf a susceptible person travels overseas and comes in contact with\u00a0measles, they can bring it back into our communities and transmit it to others while they are still asymptomatic,\u201d he said. \u201cMeasles\u00a0is highly contagious \u2013 90% of unvaccinated people who are exposed are likely to catch it \u2013 but vaccinated people are 97% protected.\u201d <\/p>\n

The\u00a0measles\u00a0virus can spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes, lingering in the air for up to two hours after they leave a room. <\/p>\n

Cases have emerged in several states this year. As of Thursday, 35 measles cases have been reported by 15 jurisdictions: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York City, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, according to the CDC. In comparison, a total of 58 cases were reported for all of last year. <\/p>\n

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