IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)– Health officials in Idaho are urging caution as the CDC continues to confirm increasing Measles cases across the United States. Over the weekend, neighboring Utah was added to the list as public health officials announced the state’s first confirmed measles case, the latest in over a thousand cases in 36 states.
The CDC identified that 95% of these cases were from people who may have been unvaccinated. The Gem State has been listed in the top 10 States with the highest rates of children who have not received a measles vaccine or whose vaccination records are not up to date.
“I know it’s been steadily declining throughout the past year. And so the main data that we have is for vaccinated school kids. It does show that about 20% are unvaccinated or under-vaccinated. So that decline has just been occurring. You know, after COVID, we’ve seen those declines in all vaccines,” said Esmeralda Quintero, Nurse Manager for Eastern Idaho Public Health.
Quintero encourages everyone to check their vaccination records. If they don’t know how to do that, give Eastern Idaho Public Health a call to get answers on protecting against measles. For more information, click HERE.
