Vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella went up in Ohio but stayed below herd immunity rate
More Ohio children received the vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella last year than the year before, but the state vaccination rate still remains below the national average.
For the 2022-23 school year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that 89% of Ohio’s kindergarten population received the vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella, often called MMR. While this is 1 percentage point higher than the previous school year, it falls below the national vaccination rate of 93%.
Measles and mumps are nonetheless affecting southwest Ohio. The Ohio Department of Health has confirmed the state's first case of each infection.
Confirmed cases of mumps and measles in Ohio
The Ohio Department of Health confirmed that the first case of mumps in the state was in Hamilton County, and school officials at C.O. Harrison Elementary School in Cincinnati notified parents January 26 that a student had been diagnosed with mumps. According to Chris Gramke, a spokesperson for the Oak Hills Local School District, parents were advised to be on the lookout for symptoms between Jan. 19 and Feb. 13.
The Ohio Department of Health reported Saturday that a child from Montgomery County was infected with measles. Ken Gordon, a spokesperson from the department confirmed to The Enquirer that the child had not previously been vaccinated.
Public health officials told the Dayton Daily News that 232 patients in the emergency department at Dayton Children’s may have been exposed between Jan. 29 and 31 as a result.
The Ohio Department of Health is collaborating with federal and local health officials to identify individuals who may have been exposed at the airport or on flights, as the child traveled out of Terminal A of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport on Jan. 27 and 29.
“Measles can be a very serious illness for anyone,” Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, the Ohio Department of Health Director, said in a press release. “The key to preventing measles is vaccination. If you are not vaccinated, we strongly encourage you to get the vaccine.”
Ohio vaccine exemptions on the rise
According to the CDC, 3.8% of kindergartners in Ohio had an exemption for one or more vaccines in the 2022-23 school year, more than twice what it was in 2011-12.
Ohio state law mandates that children receive the MMR vaccine, among others, prior to attending school. However, Ohio is one of 15 states that allow parents to obtain exemptions to immunization by citing personal beliefs, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The CDC estimated 89% of Ohio’s kindergarten population received the MMR vaccine for the 2022-23 school year. The World Health Organization estimates that herd immunity against measles requires 95% of a population to be vaccinated.
In 2022, a Columbus-area measles outbreak was the largest in the U.S. for that year. Unvaccinated individuals accounted for 80 out of 85 cases, or 94%, within the outbreak.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio lags nation in MMR vaccine, confirms measles and mumps in kids
