Kansas City Star: Measles will inevitably hit KC, leaders say

By Jonathan Shorman

Kansas City health leaders are bracing for the arrival of measles in the metro, an outcome described as inevitable, as they plead with parents to vaccinate their children. 

Health officials held a large news conference on Tuesday to deliver urgent warnings about the dangers of the disease and how quickly it can spread. The scene evoked the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic as local leaders sought to prepare the city for an approaching public health threat. 

But unlike the fearful days of March 2020, Kansas City health leaders possess a powerful weapon against measles – a long-proven and highly-effective vaccine. Whether they can convince enough people to get it to prevent any serious hospitalizations or deaths remains an open question. 

K-12 schools in three Kansas City ZIP codes currently have measles vaccination rates among their student populations that fall below the 95% rate generally required to achieve herd immunity. In one ZIP code – 64155 in the Northland – the rate is just 84%.

The quickening pace of preparations in Kansas City comes amid a growing number of measles cases nationally. Nearly 900 confirmed cases have been reported across dozens of states, and an outbreak in southwest Kansas has become the third-largest in the country at 37 cases.

The Kansas City Health Department, along with University Health and Children’s Mercy, have all urged individuals who suspect they may have measles – or parents of children who they believe may have measles – to call ahead to their health care providers before coming into a clinic or doctor’s office where they could spread the virus. 

The Kansas City Health Department in mid-May will begin staying open until 7 p.m. on Wednesdays to provide additional vaccination opportunities, in addition to opening on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon.

Read the full article via The Kansas City Star

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