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An animated explanation of measles.
Chris Brown, [email protected]
Free immunization clinic against measles in Monsey(Photo: Rochel Leah Goldblatt / The Journal News)
Sue Collins, co-founder of the New Jersey Immunization Selection Coalition, is one of the worst measles outbreaks in recent years in the Greater New York area. She said people should have freedom of choice when it comes to immunization.
As head of the national branch of New Jersey, which has a 1,000-member, nonprofit, she believes that parents should have the opportunity to opt out of vaccines, all the more so that they "could have a negative impact ".
"Measles is a benign childhood disease and the measles vaccine could have dangerous side effects," said Collins, who has not vaccinated his own children.
But most medical experts cite a body of medical research as evidence that vaccines are the best ammunition against measles, and argue that people like Collins, who do not care about immunization, threaten their health and that of others.
Dr. Shereef Elnahal, New Jersey Health Commissioner, pointed out that measles can be fatal and that the only way to prevent it is to get vaccinated.
"One study at a time shows that the benefits of immunization far outweigh the risks.You prevent vaccine-related problems, thereby saving you money in health care," said Elhanal. "You also end up protecting more people than yourself."
Health officials in the tri-state region have been working hard to contain the epidemic by educating the public about the disease and have organized clinics to administer free vaccinations.
In Rockland County, New York alone, health agencies delivered more than 6,100 doses of the vaccine on Nov. 19, according to the Ministry of Health.
Health officials have good reason to worry.
The measles epidemic has continued to spread and new cases have been reported in New York and New Jersey. The majority of people infected with measles were not vaccinated, health officials said.
The largest outbreak is in Rockland County, which had 75 confirmed cases and 11 suspected cases on Monday morning, the Rockland County Health Department said.
New Jersey has 14 confirmed cases, most of them in Lakewood, in Ocean County, the New Jersey Department of Health announced.
And Brooklyn, New York, has 24 confirmed cases, said the New York City Department of Health.
Medical experts have called this epidemic the largest epidemic of the disease in decades. Measles has been reported in 26 states, including California, Florida, Nevada and Texas.
The disease has also been responsible for 33 deaths in EU countries by 2018, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
Recent outbreaks in New Jersey, Brooklyn and Rockland County are linked to people who have traveled to Israel and who have returned with the infection. In Rockland County, cases have spread beyond the Orthodox community, their place of origin. Health officials said that a mix of adults, teenagers and children had been affected.
WHAT TO DO: Measles: how to stay safe when it is exposed
VACCINES: What adults should know about protection
TRIGGER: Rockland, Brooklyn, Lakewood, Israel: How a measles epidemic affects different communities
Vaccination in North Jersey
While measles outbreaks are almost on the verge of happening north of Jersey, local doctors are responding to calls from anxious patients and urging everyone to vaccinate.
So far, no cases have been reported in the counties of Bergen or Passaic, but there is growing concern that some of them could inevitably arise because of the proximity and confusion with affected communities nearby.
Bergen County has an above-average vaccine exemption rate among schoolchildren. For the 2017-2018 school year, 1,772 children in public and private schools were not fully immunized because of medical or religious exemptions, according to state data.
Vaccine exemption rates in school-age children have increased in recent years, creating a threat of epidemics, the CDC said. A child who has not received the vaccine is 35 times more likely to get measles than a child vaccinated in the United States.
New Jersey state law allows unvaccinated children to be excluded from schools and nurseries during epidemics.
Several ultra-Orthodox rabbis in Israel and Brooklyn – including Chassidic leaders Satmar and Belzer in Brooklyn – as well as the modern Orthodox Rabbinical Council of America and the Orthodox Union have urged their faithful to vaccinate their children. Some schools and synagogues have stated that only those who are vaccinated can attend.
Most people born after 1957 received a measles vaccine, but some did not, either for medical reasons or because they came from a country where it was not routinely practiced.
In 2000, the United States reported that measles had been eliminated from the country through vaccination. But every year, unvaccinated travelers catch measles while in other countries and report it to the United States, the CDC said. They can transmit the disease to those who are not protected, which can lead to an epidemic.
Due to gaps in the overabundance of vaccines, various measles outbreaks have hit the world in recent years, said the World Health Organization, which revealed that the number of people with the virus in 2018 had exceeded the total of 2017.
The World Health Organization recommends that, in addition to administering the vaccine to babies, adults, or adolescents who are unsure of their immune status, they should be given a dose of measles vaccine before traveling to the hospital. 'foreign.
How measles spreads
Here is a brief history of measles, with information provided by the Centers for Disease Control. Video of Jordan Fenster / lohud.
Wochit
Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by a virus that spreads in the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It is one of the most contagious viruses; 90% of unvaccinated people exposed to the virus are infected. It is possible to catch it by being in a room where an infected person has been until two hours ago.
Symptoms of measles
Fever, cough, sore throat and possibly a rash that spreads all over the body are the symptoms of measles. It can lead to serious complications such as pneumonia and encephalitis (swelling of the brain) and, in some cases, death.
Measles cases in the world
Globally, 19 million cases of measles are reported each year and about 89,780 people die, "said Kate Fowlie, spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Email: [email protected]
Related: Could North Jersey be next for a measles outbreak?
More: Vaccines against measles: what adults should know about protection
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