Health officials warn Kansas City may soon see its first measles case
It’s only a matter of time before Kansas City sees its first case of measles since 2019 as outbreaks of the highly contagious disease continue to spread across the U.S., health officials told Kansas City city council members Thursday.
“I do expect it to reach Kansas City,” Cindy Calendar, the Kansas City Health Department’s lead for the communicable disease epidemiology group, said during a presentation at the city council’s business meeting.
Nationally, there have been a total of 712 confirmed cases of measles reported by 24 states and New York City, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
On Wednesday, health officials reported the measles outbreak in Kansas had grown to 37 cases, mainly driven by unvaccinated children and teens.
Although the cases are concentrated in eight counties in the southwestern part of the state, Calendar said the outbreak is moving toward central Kansas.
“I think that’s important for us here in Kansas City because it’s, at this point, a matter of when, and just to be prepared,” Calendar said. “Kansas City has not had a case since 2019, and at that time, we had 13 cases.”
KC not at ‘herd immunity’
Health officials have stated that the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine is safe and effective.
When more than 95% of the people in a community are vaccinated, most people are protected through community immunity, often called herd immunity, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
“I thought it was important for us to know that we are not at herd immunity right now,” Calendar said.
She displayed a graphic that showed vaccination rates among kindergartners broken down by county. Cass, Clay and Jackson counties had vaccination rates just below 90%. At 93.1%, even Platte County was below what is considered necessary for herd immunity.
Kansas City-specific data was not available. Kansas City Health Director Marvia Jones said that they requested that data, which was being compiled.
Those who are not vaccinated are susceptible to the disease, Calendar said.
Earlier vaccinations for children?
Generally, children should get their first dose of the MMR vaccine between 12 and 15 months of age. Some exceptions, including if they live in an outbreak area, allow them to get the first shot at 6 months.
Council member Crispin Rea, who requested the presentation, asked whether Kansas City should ease the restrictions, knowing that the outbreak is coming.
Jones responded that generally, you wait until there is some indication of an outbreak in the area before allowing the earlier vaccination, in part so you don’t throw off the immunization schedules.
“You just want to make sure you have a really good reason for that,” Jones said. She added that they will communicate with the state, and if they start seeing that the outbreak is moving fast or an aggressive outbreak is brewing, they would make such a declaration.
Jones also expressed concerns about federal cuts, saying they get funds to cover vaccines for children from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
They are watching and worried about the cuts. Jones said there is no concern about their supply in stock and what they can get from the state, but they were still operating off of existing contracts.
“We have not yet fully borne the weight of the cuts,” Jones said. “I am a little concerned about what is going to happen after this latest budget cycle that they’re working on now, where they are proposing some additional cuts to that space.”
