Healthy Living: April 9, 2019

Maine could be more vulnerable than most states for an outbreak of measles, and other diseases.

That's according to health experts who say our state's vaccination rate plays a big role.

TV5 health adviser Doctor Amy Movius stopped by to talk about that.

Maine has one of the lowest childhood vaccination rates in the country and it has recently dropped further to an ominous low. Specifically, the overall rate of childhood vaccination has fallen below the threshold of herd immunity protection. What this means is unvaccinated individuals are not protected from these infections by the immunity of those around them. Under this threshold, if an infection is contracted by one person, it can quickly spread to other susceptible (unimmunized) people. This is, in fact, exactly what happened in the measles outbreak in New York. The first case was introduced by someone who had been out of the country. It quickly spread to other susceptible people in the community to the point that most unimmunized individuals were temporarily banned from public places. This was not to punish anyone, it was to try and stop further spread. Maine has more than twice the national average of unimmunized children. This is because Maine is one of 17 states that allow exemption from school vaccinations for religious or philosophical reasons in addition to medical ones. Medical exemptions are for children who cannot receive vaccines because of issues such as impaired immune systems and make up a minority of Maine's unvaccinated children. It is estimated that half of all kindergarten classes in the state are not protected by herd immunity because of low vaccination rates. These facts should appeal to parents who opted out of school vaccinations because the risk of infection seemed abstract - the math has changed.

The measles outbreak seen in New York could easily happen in Maine. The CDC sent out multiple alerts about a Massachusetts resident infected with measles who visited two medical facilities two weeks ago. The incubation period for measles is up to 21 days so we are still in the "holding our breath" phase and hoping there will be no spread. Maine already has one of the highest rates of whooping cough (pertussis) in the country; which can be life-threatening especially in babies. Vaccinations are incredibly safe; far safer than the diseases they protect from. That's a fact. Another fact is that VACCINES DO NOT CAUSE AUTISM. This has been shown over and over and over again and the originator of this dangerous lie was disbarred from practicing medicine. If your child is behind on their vaccinations, don't worry! There are protocols for these "catch-up" situations for all ages that your provider will be familiar with. Likewise, there should be no judgment – only welcome and goodwill by your provider and office staff. Lastly, thank you to all the parents again listening to this topic. I promise that the repetition of this important information is because I care about your children and our Maine community, like all parents and providers I know.

References:

1. www.cdc.gov

2. www.maine.gov