Multnomah County Urges Schools to Ready for Measles as Oregon Cases Hit 50
Updated
Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Sep 2
Multnomah County Urges Schools to Ready for Measles as Oregon Cases Hit 50
3 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Sep 2
Summary
Multnomah County health officials told schools to prepare for measles exposures and identify students without at least one documented MMR shot as classes resume.
50 measles cases have already been confirmed in Oregon this year, and county officials said Multnomah is seeing its highest case count since measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000.
85% of Portland kindergarteners are vaccinated against measles, health officials said, well below the 95% level needed to curb spread of the airborne virus, which can linger for up to two hours.
21 days out of class is possible for students without proof of immunity after an exposure, officials warned, while doctors said vaccine side effects are usually minor compared with risks such as pneumonia and brain infections.