Neighbor Tuesday: Measles in my hometown, flu everywhere, and RFK Jr.
And what you can do to protect yourself, including vaccination clinic locations in Lea County, New Mexico and West Texas.
9 out of 10 people will become infected with measles if exposed and not protected through vaccines - making measles one of the most infectious diseases in the world.
Measles can survive for 2 hours in the air or on infected surfaces (like doorknobs, light switches, tables, etc) and spreads when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes.
An infected person can transmit measles to others from 4 days prior to the rash starts.
Once infected, it usually takes 10-14 days to become symptomatic. At the beginning (4-7 days), symptoms include a running nose, cough, eye irritation (think red and watery), and white spots inside your cheeks. The characteristic rash begins 7-18 days after exposure, spreading from the face and upper neck first, and then to the hands and feet.
Complications include blindness, brain swelling/damage, pneumonia or other breathing problems, severe diarrhea leading to dehydration, and infections. 30% of children infected with measles develop a complication. For pregnant women, measles can be super dangerous to her and the baby.
There is no specific treatment for measles.
I started this post with the statistics on measles to stress the importance of this disease. Usually, I try to start these posts with an introductory paragraph to gear us up for the data. But because measles is so serious, I didn’t want to sugarcoat it.
Measles is one of the most infectious diseases in the world, with high complication rates (including death), and is not a simple rash or cold. It can be deadly or have life-long complications for children. I don’t know how to say it softer and I know it sounds scary. That’s because it is. There’s no softening about it.
Let me tell you about the outbreak to highlight how measles can spread quickly and tell you how you can protect yourself and your family.
On February 5th, the Texas Department of State Health Services reported an outbreak of 6 cases of measles in Gaines County (this is rural West Texas in the panhandle). All were unvaccinated. Nine days later, the confirmed cases rose to 49, of which 42 were kids. Most were school-age kids and 13 were hospitalized. For those of you doing the math, that’s 30%-45% of the infected kids are in the hospital. Health officials are following 200-300 others in West Texas - and others in New Mexico - which brings me to my hometown.
I grew up in a tiny town in rural, Southeastern Lea County New Mexico. This past week, health officials were also following cases in Lea County and confirmed 3 cases. For those of you that live there, possible exposures could have occurred at:
To put this into context, I grew up going to church in Hobbs, NM, and have lots of friends who work at Nor-Lea Hospital. This hits close to home.
Measles is also preventable with childhood vaccinations. If I’m being honest, I’ve been frustrated since I heard about the outbreak in West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico among children. I went to undergrad in West Texas and have driven through Seminole, one of the most affected towns in the outbreak, more times than I can count. I’m angry because the disease is preventable and people aren’t getting the vaccines. I’m angry because people are believing the anti-vax sentiments being spewed all over the internet right now.
And, because RFK Jr. is about to make it worse.
This past week, RFK Jr. was confirmed as the Health and Human Services Secretary. (It makes my stomach hurt to type that last sentence.) For YEARS, he has spewed conspiracy theories about vaccines, including the one about vaccines causing autism. The false claim about autism being caused by vaccines has been widely debunked over and over again. This claim started in 1998 when Andrew Wakefield and colleagues published a paper claiming that the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine caused autism - a paper that has since been retracted due to scientific misconduct (aka. really bad and fraudulent science).
A recent study with 657,461 children, one of the largest ever on the MMR vaccine (for context, the debunked Wakefield study I mentioned above had only 12 children), looked specifically at the connection between the MMR vaccine and autism. The conclusion: MMR does not cause autism. To further prove the point, researchers looked at a subgroup of children at higher risk of autism, such as having a sibling with autism, and concluded the same: MMR does not cause autism. Decades of other studies have had the same result. (Side note: The journals that published these two studies are some of the highest and most respected scientific journals. They are very hard to get published in because of the rigorous standards of excellent science. In other words, they are as legit as they come.) Study after study after study debunked those claims - but the damage had already been done in fueling the anti-vax movement.
The real data with hundreds of thousands of children show that MMR vaccines are safe and effective against diseases that could kill children.
But RFK Jr. built a career on conspiracy theories. Moving forward over the next few years, I’m really worried about what comes out of HHS now that he’s in charge. So, be wary if you see things questioning the safety of vaccines or stories about harm from vaccines. For example, I’ve seen a big uptick in “stories” on Facebook about the HPV vaccine or the MMR vaccine this week - these “stories” espouse that people have been hurt by the vaccines and encourage people not to trust them. In other words, the anti-vax rhetoric is being disseminated in story form now rather than blatant conspiracies. In other words, they are sneaky. So, be cautious, be aware, and be vaccinated. Of course, I’ll be here (along with others) to walk alongside you as we navigate it.
The other big story I’m watching is the flu right now. This is a record flu season with 46 out of 48 jurisdictions having high or very high activity.
16,000 people have died (68 children) from flu so far this season. And, we are seeing a record high rate of hospitalizations from the flu (shout-out to you amazing healthcare workers working in overcrowded ERs and health systems!). Look at the red trend below to see this year’s hospitalization rates compared to previous years. Ugh!
This is partly due to the low uptake of the flu vaccine this year. I think some of the low uptake is a ripple effect of the pandemic and the increase of anti-vaccine sentiments. Our hospitals and healthcare workers are now feeling the brunt of this ripple effect.
Why do I bring up the flu and how is this connected to the anti-vax machine? Because vaccines can protect us against measles and the flu (along with rubella, polio, whooping cough, tetanus, diphtheria, pneumococcal disease, chickenpox, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, HPV, and rotavirus). As I mentioned earlier, I’m worried about the new administration (especially RFK Jr.) slowly spreading anti-vax sentiment. Most people don’t know that the anti-vax movement is an incredibly well-oiled machine, backed by millions of dollars, and organized with precision, with RFK Jr. right in the middle and Andrew Wakefield there too. The other people RFK Jr. will put in leadership positions at HHS in the coming weeks are some of the most significant backers and contributors of the movement. So, stay alert! Don’t believe the “stories” you see on Facebook or elsewhere. And, get vaccinated!
Vaccines are safe and effective.
Mommas (especially in West Texas and Lea County, New Mexico), please get your babies protected. There’s still time and your child has a 90% chance of getting measles if they are unvaccinated and exposed. In high-risk areas, like West Texas/Lea County, NM, children as young as 6 months can be vaccinated too. If your child gets the MMR vaccine within 72 hours of exposure, it can provide some protection! See below:
Here’s where residents of South Plains can get vaccinated.
Here’s where residents of Lea County can get vaccinated.
If you’re an adult and wondering if you should get the MMR vaccine, here’s a helpful website. You can also ask your healthcare provider for a blood test to determine if you should get a MMR.
Stay safe out there, everyone. Onward we go!
-Emily
My husband caught measles as a small toddler. His mother then caught it as well while she was pregnant. That baby, my husband's future sister, was born deaf and with life long kidney problems that eventually killed her at age 50. All because when my husband and I were children, there was NOT a measles vaccine available yet. I thank God there are measles vaccines available now so that others don't have to go down this same path. My sister-in-law was one of the most joyful people I've ever met. I miss her. She suffered much. Why would people choose to let their children or future children suffer like this when vaccines can prevent it.
Junk science and conspiracy theories based on no information, inaccurate information, and/or less than adequate research can cause innocent people to suffer or die. Vaccines can prevent people from suffering and dying. I support excellent research and excellent science as THIS has been proven over and over again to help people and myself. Thank you Emily Smith and so many others I know who are supporters of excellent science and who get the GOOD, ACCURATE information out there to the public. You great healthcare people and workers can sleep well at night knowing you have contributed to saving lives! Every day we appreciate your work and care for others.