Illinois unveils online tool showing measles vaccination rates by school
With measles spreading across the country, the Illinois Department of Public Health unveiled a new online tool Wednesday that allows people to look up measles vaccination rates and data about the risk of outbreaks at individual schools across the state.
Illinois has not had any reported cases of measles yet this year, but there were 607 reported cases across the country so far this year, as of April 3, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Earlier this week, Texas announced that a second child with measles had died. In all, three people with measles in the U.S. have died this year, and all three were unvaccinated. Before the recent outbreak, there had not been a measles death in the U.S. for a decade.
'Our new dashboard provides the public with the ability to review the measles vaccination rates in their child's school and its risk for an outbreak,' said Dr. Sameer Vohra, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, in a news release.
The new Measles Outbreak Simulator Dashboard uses school vaccination data from 2023-2024 to predict, project and estimate the size and spread of a measles outbreak in individual Illinois schools. People looking up schools in Cook County should look under 'Suburban-Cook.'
The state health department is encouraging school administrators and staff to use the dashboard to help make decisions related to outbreak prevention and control.
Vohra urged Illinois residents to make sure they and their family members are up-to-date on their measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.
Two doses of the vaccine are recommended for lifetime protection and are 97% effective against measles, according to the CDC. One dose is 93% effective against the illness. The first dose of the vaccine, or the similar measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (chickenpox) vaccine is typically is given at age 12 months to 15 months. Children typically receive the second dose between ages 4 to 6.
So far this year, more than 20 states have reported confirmed cases of measles, with the largest outbreak in Texas.
Neighboring Indiana said Wednesday it has confirmed six cases of measles, including four minors who were unvaccinated and two adults whose vaccination status was unknown.
Vohra said the state health department is working with local public health departments and health care organizations to 'prepare for any potential measles cases in Illinois.'
Illinois has not had a case of measles since an outbreak in March 2024 in which 67 cases were reported, with most linked to a Chicago shelter for migrants on the Lower West Side where nearly 2,500 people were living in close quarters. That outbreak was the largest in Illinois since 1990, according to the state health department.
People can check their vaccination status by contacting their health care providers or looking at their medical records. Or they can use the Illinois Department of Public Health's online portal, Vax Verify, to check their immunization status.
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