Health officials urge measles vaccine ahead of summer travel
ALBUQUERQUE — The New Mexico Department of Health has some advice about measles ahead of the summer travel season.
"Get vaccinated and go have fun," the department's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Miranda Durham said at a news conference Thursday.
The state's measles outbreak this week surpassed 75 cases, with 76 known cases — the majority in Lea County but including four in Sandoval County — as of Thursday afternoon. So far, the outbreak has resulted in seven hospitalizations and one death.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows more than 1,000 measles cases across 31 U.S. states. Durham noted New Mexico's cases share the same genotype as initial cases in West Texas, across the border from Lea County, as well as many of the cases across the country.
State health officials called Thursday's news conference to provide updates on the state's measles outbreaks in anticipation of summertime travel.
"As summer is approaching and travel season is upon us, we want to make sure that we get information out about the measles virus and want to make sure that everybody stays safe," said Health Secretary Gina DeBlassie.
"Be sure to get vaccinated," she added. "That's the best protection."
Measles is a highly contagious virus that can cause fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes, rashes and serious complications like pneumonia, brain swelling and death.
How contagious? "One of the most contagious viruses that we know," Durham said.
It spreads when an infected person coughs or sneezes, Durham added, and those viral particles can remain suspended in an enclosed environment for up to two hours.
Since the start of New Mexico's measles outbreak in February, the Department of Health has created a measles information dashboard at measles.doh.nm.gov, hosted mobile vaccine clinics, coordinated with the CDC and updated health care providers, school nurses, tribal leaders and other stakeholders, DeBlassie said.
Wastewater testing for the disease is ongoing in Santa Fe, Rio Rancho, Albuquerque and several locations in the southern half of the state, with the most recent results coming back negative.
Two doses of the MMR — or measles, mumps and rubella — vaccine is the best way to prevent a case of measles, according to the Department of Health. The typical MMR vaccine schedule includes a first dose shortly after a child's first birthday and a second dose around kindergarten, between 4 and 6 years old.
The department is now recommending an additional dose — or three doses total — of the vaccine between six and 11 months for children who live in or travel to areas of high measles activity, including parts of New Mexico with active measles cases like Sandoval, Curry, Lea and Doña Ana counties, Durham said.
Across the board, New Mexico's measles vaccination rates among kindergartners are at about 95%, reaching the "magic number" for herd immunity, Durham said. Rates of children under 18 who have received at least one dose of the MMR vaccine fall a few percentage points below 95% in some parts of New Mexico — including Santa Fe, Los Alamos, San Miguel, Colfax and Taos counties.
Adults born after 1957 are considered immune after one dose of the MMR vaccine, but an extra dose is recommended for adults in outbreak areas. Adults born before 1957 almost certainly had measles because the virus was much more common then.
Pregnant and severely immunocompromised people cannot get the measles vaccine. Durham recommended women get the vaccine prior to becoming pregnant.
Health care workers have provided nearly 30,000 MMR vaccines in New Mexico from Feb. 1 to Wednesday, close to twice the number of vaccinations during the same period in 2024.
"If you are vaccinated and up to date on vaccines, [you] really are very well protected and so don't need to be scared," Durham said. "You can go travel, but the message is: Get vaccinated before you do."
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