Measles outbreak sparks concern
Feb. 26—In the wake of two confirmed cases of measles, Ector County is monitoring and preparing for the disease.
The Ector County Health Department has scheduled MMR vaccine clinics 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Feb. 27 and 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. March 6 at the health department, 221 N. Texas Ave., Odessa.
Pre-registration is recommended to cut down on wait times, a Facebook post stated. Also, pregnant women cannot get the live vaccine.
County Judge Dustin Fawcett said Wednesday the county's priority is making sure that the resources are allocated appropriately.
At the Feb. 25 commissioners court meeting, they agreed to purchase a specialized negative 70 degrees Celsius freezer that can be used to store measles test kits prior to the kits being sent to the state, he added.
The freezer can also be used for other types of test kits and the county hopes to recoup some of the cost by charging clinics and doctors who need to store items there.
"(The freezer) is something that we are seeing that is needed for our community so that we can send those tests down to the state because the state is the one that ultimately runs those verifications and either affirms or tells us that those cases are negative. We just had several of those actually that have come back negative that we had sent down. We had sent down three and all three of the specimens that we were awaiting the results (for) came back negative," Fawcett said.
Vaccinations and testing can be done at any one of the 29 different medical providers in Ector County, or at the health department, he said.
"When it comes to the testing, we encourage the parents, and I can't state the importance of this enough, that we encourage them to call their provider ahead of time (and) tell them the symptoms that they are seeing before taking their kids in. Do not just do a drop in because of the highly infectious nature of this disease. It's got over a 90 percent contagion rate, meaning that there's a 90 percent chance, if you're in the same room as someone who's infected, that within that two-hour period, which is the lifespan of that disease at airborne, that you can contract if you are unvaccinated," Fawcett said.
All children in Ector County under the age of 1 year are at risk from measles, he said.
"So certainly our focus is on daycares. Unfortunately, our public health department has been working on speaking with the owners of all of our daycare facilities. We have a good relationship with them, making sure that they continue to push out education to parents that if their kids do have any of these symptoms, they must stay home. We know that there is an economic cost to that, but there is a greater health concern, because of the contagious nature of this disease," Fawcett said.
Another big concern, he said, is the elderly and immunocompromised population.
"That is certainly a concern is that folks who (are) immunocompromised health issues ... are at risk also," Fawcett said.
The zero to 4-year-old population is a concern because only about half of them are vaccinated, so the county is monitoring that.
Fawcett said there is a contact tracer at the health department who is tracking measles.
"We have the scenario built up for our one confirmed case. We have a hypothesis of when (the child) perhaps contracted the measles and we have been making sure that we have come in contact with everybody who could have come in contact with that child. We are working diligently on that aspect of it and we're having daily conversations with the Department of State Health Services," he added.
School age children are 5 to 18 so the vaccination rate among children 5 to 9 is 73 percent, Fawcett said and 10 to 19 is 84 percent.
"School age is typically 5 to 18, but daycares are also hubs of these children and so we can't neglect that piece of data which is that 52.8 percent vaccination rate for the 6 month to 4-year-olds of the MMR," Fawcett said.
The concern with vaccinating as young as 6 months is that the efficacy of the vaccine could be minimized. If a child gets the measles vaccine under 12 months, they may have to have it again at 12 to 15 months to be considered fully vaccinated.
"That's not as concerning health-wise, but again, these are conversations that everybody needs to have with their providers and we encourage them to have those conversations with them," Fawcett said.
A news release from the Immunization Partnership said several news sources reported Feb. 26 that health officials have confirmed the death of an unvaccinated school age child in West Texas due to measles, marking the first fatality in a significant outbreak that began last month. The Immunization Partnership continues to monitor the situation and is collaborating with health officials in West Texas to provide resources and amplify public health warnings. This tragic loss underscores the urgent need for vaccination and community-wide efforts to prevent further spread of this highly contagious disease, the release said.
The Immunization Partnership release stated it is the only organization in Texas dedicated to restoring trust in vaccines through education and public engagement.
"Our thoughts are with those grieving this unimaginable loss. Measles is not just another illness — it can have devastating consequences, especially for infants and children, those with weakened immune systems, and individuals who cannot be vaccinated, TIP Executive Director Terri Burke stated in the release.
"No one should have to endure such a preventable loss, and this moment serves as a painful reminder of the importance of protecting one another through vaccination," Burke added.
The MMR (Mumps, Measles, Rubella) vaccine is a two-dose regimen. The first is recommended between 12 months and 15 months. And the second is typically given between 4 and 6 years of age.
Generally speaking, children with weakened immune systems, those with allergies to a component of the vaccine and pregnant women, she said.
Children under 5, unvaccinated, pregnant women, those with weakened immune systems including those with HIV/AIDs are the most vulnerable to the disease, Burke said. Measles is not just a rash — it can cause pneumonia, blindness, and as we have now seen death, she said.
The county where it started has a nearly 18 percent non-medical exemption rate — meaning parents have filed a notarized form with their schools to opt their children out of required vaccines. Only 82 percent of kindergartners were vaccinated last school year — public health officials agree that it takes a 95 percent rate to have herd immunity. Parents have been urged to keep their unvaccinated children at home for 21 days but that is obviously difficult for many families, Burke said.
In 2000, the U.S. announced it was eradicated. But at the same time, a now debunked paper (the author was ultimately stripped of his medical license) was published saying measles vaccine caused autism.
Cases started popping up in Gaines County and Burke said it has now spread to neighboring counties including Lea County, N.M.
Asked if the cause of the outbreak was at least partly to do with the anti-vaccination movement that came to prominence during COVID Burke said the anti-vaccination movement has been around for a while, "but yes, the rhetoric that surrounded the COVID pandemic and subsequent vaccines exacerbated the already growing anti-vax movement."
The United Family issued a news release Wednesday stating that United Supermarkets, Amigos, and Market Street Pharmacies in Texas can administer the Measles, Mumps & Rubella (MMR) vaccine in store. With convenient locations and evening and weekend hours, the pharmacy can provide an alternative to doctor's offices.
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, 124 measles cases have been identified with symptom onset within the last three weeks. Eighteen of the patients have been hospitalized and there has been one death of a school-age child. Due to the highly contagious nature of this disease, additional cases are likely to occur in Gaines County and the surrounding communities, the release said.
For vaccines, the release said:
— No appointment is necessary. Guests can walk in to talk to a pharmacist and request an MMR vaccine.
— Pharmacists can vaccinate children age 13 and under with a prescription from their doctor. They can vaccinate children 14 and up without a prescription.
— Post-exposure prophylaxis is available for adults within 3 days of exposure.
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