(WASHINGTON) — Measles vaccination rates appear to be increasing in some areas of the U.S. that have been affected by outbreaks this year.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently recommends that people receive two doses of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine — the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective, the CDC says.
Of the 378 measles cases confirmed by the CDC so far this year, the majority have been among those who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown.
In western Texas, an outbreak has infected 327 people, according to data from the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). Of those cases, just two have been among people fully vaccinated with the MMR vaccine.
Health officials have been urging anyone who isn’t vaccinated to receive the MMR vaccine or to catch up on missed doses.
In Texas, as of March 16, at least 173,362 MMR vaccine doses have been administered across the state this year, according to DSHS data provided to ABC News.
This is higher than the number of doses administered in the state over the same period since at least 2020.
A DSHS spokesperson told ABC News that because there is no statewide requirement to report vaccine administration, the data is not a comprehensive accounting of all MMR vaccines administered in the state.
Lubbock County, in western Texas, has seen 10 measles cases so far this year, DSHS data shows. Despite not being at the epicenter of the outbreak, the number of people being vaccinated has increased, according to Katherine Wells, director of public health for the city of Lubbock.
“We’re 75 miles east of the actual outbreak, but we’re seeing an increase in the number of vaccinations that we’re giving in our community,” she told ABC News. “Over the last four weeks, our health department has been operating a walk-in vaccine clinic that’s just for MMR, and that vaccine clinic [has] administered a little over 300 vaccines.”
She added that health officials have seen multiple babies under 6 months old who have been exposed to measles. Because they are too young to be vaccinated, they have been given shots of immunoglobulin, which are antibodies that act as a post-exposure prophylaxis.
Wells said the vaccines are available at no cost, and health officials have been trying to spread the word over social media and the local news.
“So we’re kind of just getting the people that, I think, either their children are behind on vaccines, just because parents get busy and it’s hard to get your four-year-old sometimes into the doctor’s office, or people that were kind of on the fence about vaccines and maybe said, ‘Well, I don’t want to vaccinate my kids, because you never see measles.’ But now that you’re seeing measles, they’re bringing their children in for vaccinations,” she said.
In conversations with colleagues in nearby health departments, such as in epicenter Gaines County, Wells has said it’s been harder to reach residents to distribute the MMR vaccine, making the process somewhat of a “struggle.”
She explained that in Lubbock, the health department building is large — with most residents knowing where it is — and the department has more outreach staff than smaller departments.
“I think it’s a little bit harder in some of these rural areas, because they’re setting up in places that might not be as familiar to individuals,” Wells said. “They’re finding different locations in order to have those clinics; they’re starting to focus a lot more on school-based clinics. So, let’s go to where the children are and get the parents to come to that school and then offer the vaccine there, which I think is a great tactic.”
Meanwhile, in nearby New Mexico, the state Department of Health (NMDOH) reported a total of 43 measles cases so far this year. Most of the cases have been confirmed in Lea County, which borders western Texas.
Health officials suspect there may be a connection between the Texas and New Mexico cases, but a link has not yet been confirmed.
Data from NMDOH provided to ABC News shows that between Feb. 1 and March 24 of this year, more than 13,100 MMR doses have been administered. Of those, about 7,000 doses have been administered among those under age 18 and about 6,100 have been administered among adults.
This is more than the double the number of MMR vaccine doses that were administered over the same period last year, according to Robert Nott, communications director for the NMDOH. The vaccines are being administered at no charge.
“We’re encouraged by the number of people getting vaccinated but we’re not taking it for granted,” Nott told ABC News. “You can see nationwide: measles is highly contagious.”
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to humans. Just one infected patient can spread measles to up to nine out of 10 susceptible close contacts, according to the CDC.
The measles virus can linger in the air and live on surfaces for up to two hours after an infected person has left a room, the CDC says.
Wells, from Lubbock, said during a press briefing last week that it could take up to a year to gain control over the outbreak.
“Our number of cases are continuing to increase daily. There [are] also still cases that are unreported or under-reported because people aren’t seeking testing,” she told ABC News. “So, I still think we’re on the growth side of this outbreak, and it’s going to be until we get a significant number of vaccines and really be able to identify all of those cases. So, it’ll take both of those things happening before we can get this under control.”
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