RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — More and more people around the world and in this country are getting measles.
As of today, North Carolina has its first case of measles since 2018. This was reported by the state’s Department of Health and Human Services. It has to do with a child in Mecklenburg County.
A report from the DHHS says that the child’s parents kept them at home after they came back to North Carolina from a trip abroad, except for a medical appointment. Officials from DHHS say they are working with Mecklenburg County and the CDC to let people who may have been exposed know.
The child did not pass through any North Carolina airports. CBS 17 was told by the department that the child did not need to be hospitalized and is now getting better at home.
The number of parents who have asked the CDC to not vaccinate their children has gone up to about 3% since the pandemic.
Wake County hasn’t had a case of measles since 2016. The director of health for Wake County, Rebecca Kaufman, said, “We are always looking out for people who might have measles.” “In 2000, measles was wiped out in the United States.” We’re seeing cases again now that the number of people getting vaccinated has gone down.
Based on the rates of immunization in 2023, 92.3% of Wake County kindergarteners had all of their needed vaccines. DHHP says that information only comes from schools that told the department about their kids’ immunization records that year.
It says that the data shouldn’t be taken as population-level coverage and that the CDC’s projections take into account people who didn’t respond and sample “when appropriate.”
The CDC estimates that 94% of Kindergarteners in North Carolina got their MMR vaccine before the start of the 2022–2023 school year. This is higher than the national rate of 93%.
Kaufman said, “The MMR vaccine works 97% of the time after two doses.” “All kids in Wake County and across the country should get their two-dose series,”
In order to keep an eye on things, NCDHHS says it follows standard procedures and works closely with local health offices. At this point, there are no other possible cases in the state.