With the recent outbreak of measles in West Texas health experts are hoping to dispel misinformation about vaccines in order to halt the disease’s rapid spread.
Medical professionals say the misinformation and disinformation on the subject is frustrating efforts to reign in infections, which currently are reported at more than 400 cases in Texas.
According to information from the Centers for Disease Control, measles has a contagion rate of nearly 90 percent for unvaccinated people, and children and the elderly are among the most vulnerable of at-risk groups.
Experts now say that people born before 1957 who don’t have proof of immunity should consider getting at least one shot, and unimmunized children should begin vaccinations immediately.
While no vaccine is 100-percent effective against measles, doctors say the two-shot MMR vaccine has a functional immunity of around 97 percent.
Experts say the vaccine is safe, and most people have no side effects.
Accurate information about measles includes:
- About 1 in 14 people with measles will get an ear infection (usually in children).
- Severe ear infections can cause permanent hearing loss.
- About 1 in 16 will get pneumonia, which is the most common cause of measles-related death in children.
- About 1 in 1,000 people will develop swelling of the brain (encephalitis). Fifteen percent of people who develop encephalitis will die, and 25 percent will end up with permanent brain damage.
Health care professionals say before wide-scale vaccinations, about 450 people in the U.S. died annually from measles, with most of those deaths occurring in children, and even with the best care, up to three of every 1,000 people who are infected with measles will die.
Vaccinations are covered by most health plans and, and uninsured Texans 19 and older may qualify for Department of State Health Services Adult Safety Net program which helps provide affordable immunizations.
City of San Angelo-Tom Green County Health Department provides low-cost vaccines during Immunization Clinic hours, from 8 a.m. to 11: 30 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesdays.
Patients must call 325-657-4214 to schedule an appointment.
