Originally published in WAMU. Read the full story here.
The immunization rate against measles among D.C. schoolchildren is lower than experts say is ideal. And with a nationwide measles outbreak spreading, city officials are telling parents to get their kids vaccinated before the school year starts.
D.C.’s immunization rate is 91%, which can put the city at risk, said D.C. Department of Health Director LaQuandra Nesbitt at a press conference Monday.
“We know that it’s more than likely we can have an outbreak that spreads very quickly if our rates are below 95%,” Nesbitt said. “What we benefit from — called herd immunity — goes away when we’re below 95%. So we all need to band together and have our children vaccinated so that we can get those rates back up above 95%.”
Nationwide, there have been 1,123 cases of measles reported in 28 states — the worst such flare-up since 1992. While no cases have been reported in D.C., there have been cases in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
“Where do people in the District in our daytime population come from? Maryland and Virginia,” Nesbitt said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the historic rate of measles vaccinations through 2017 in Maryland was 92.4% and 97.6% in Virginia.
Under D.C. law, any student entering school — public, private or parochial — has to be vaccinated against a range of diseases, including measles, polio, chickenpox, and hepatitis A and B. Like in 45 states, parents in D.C. can receive an exemption if they can demonstrate a religious objection to vaccines.
According to the D.C. Health Department, roughly 93% of students attending traditional public and public charter schools have been vaccinated against measles, with the numbers dropping slightly in private (91.9%) and parochial (87.2%). Overall compliance with all required immunizations is lower, though, ranging from three-quarters of students at public schools to only half at parochial schools.