With measles breaking out in the Pacific Northwest, health experts in Utah say it’s more important than ever for parents to vaccinate their kids.
But two years after Utah’s latest measles outbreak, early childhood measles vaccination rates here are among the lowest in the country — and according to a study last year, the number of children seeking exemptions from school vaccine requirements for “personal” reasons is increasing.
“The best way of preventing the spread of measles is to have every single person in a community vaccinated, and to keep those who are infected at home, so they do not expose anyone else to this potentially deadly virus,” said Tamara Sheffield, medical director for community health and prevention at Intermountain Healthcare.