Why vaccination debate persists as measles outbreak spreads

Deena Yellin | NorthJersey

Show Caption Hide Caption Measles, an animated explanation An animated explanation of the measles.

Amid one of the worst measles outbreaks the greater New York region has seen in recent years, Sue Collins, a co-founder of the New Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice, said individuals should have freedom of choice when it comes to vaccinating.

As leader of the 1,000-member New Jersey branch of the national non-profit, she believes parents should have the option to refuse vaccines, particularly since "they could have a detrimental impact," she said.

"Measles is a mild childhood disease, and the measles vaccine could have dangerous side effects," said Collins, who did not vaccinate her own children.

But most medical experts point to an array of medical research as proof that vaccines are the best ammunition against measles, and argue that people like Collins, who shrug off vaccination, are threatening their own health and the health of others.

Dr. Shereef Elnahal, New Jersey health commissioner, pointed out that measles can be deadly and the only way to prevent it is through vaccination.

"Study after study shows the benefits of vaccination far outweighs the risks. You are preventing problems with vaccines, so it saves money on health care costs," Elhanal said. "You also end up protecting more people than just yourself."

Health officials across the tri-state area have been working overtime to contain the outbreak by educating the public about the disease and have been holding clinics to administer free immunizations.

In Rockland County, New York, alone, health agencies have administered over 6,100 doses of the vaccine as of Nov. 19, according to the Department of Health.

Health officials have good reason for concern.

The measles outbreak has continued to spread, with additional cases reported throughout New York and New Jersey. The majority of people infected with measles were not vaccinated, health officials said.

The largest outbreak is in Rockland County, which had 75 confirmed cases and 11 suspected cases as of Monday morning, the Rockland County Department of Health said.

New Jersey has 14 confirmed cases, with most of them in Lakewood in Ocean County, the New Jersey Department of Health reported.

And Brooklyn, New York, has 24 confirmed cases, the New York City Department of Health said.

Medical experts have called this the largest outbreak of the disease in decades, with measles reported in 26 states, including California, Florida, Nevada and Texas.

The illness has also been responsible for 33 deaths in EU countries in 2018, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

The recent outbreaks in New Jersey, Brooklyn and Rockland County are linked to people who traveled to Israel and returned with the infection. In Rockland County, the cases have spread beyond the Orthodox community, where they originated. Health officials say a mix of adults, teens and children have been affected.

WHAT TO DO: Measles: How to stay safe if exposed

VACCINES: What adults should know about being protected

OUTBREAK: Rockland, Brooklyn, Lakewood, Israel: How a measles outbreak affects different communities

Vaccination in North Jersey

With measles outbreaks virtually at North Jersey's doorstep, local doctors have been fielding calls from anxious patients and are urging everyone to vaccinate.

Thus far, no cases have been reported in Bergen or Passaic counties, but there is growing concern that some may inevitably crop up because of proximity and intermingling with the affected communities nearby.

Bergen County has a higher-than-average rate of vaccine exemptions among schoolchildren. For the 2017-18 school year, a combined 1,772 children in public and private schools were not fully vaccinated because of medical or religious exemptions, state data show.

Vaccine exemption rates among school-age children have been rising in recent years, creating a threat for outbreaks, the CDC said. A child who has not received the vaccine is 35 times more likely to contract measles than a vaccinated child in the U.S.

New Jersey state law permits unvaccinated children to be excluded from schools and child-care centers during outbreaks.

Several prominent ultra-Orthodox rabbis in Israel and in Brooklyn — including Hasidic Satmar and Belzer leaders in Brooklyn — as well as the modern Orthodox Rabbinical Council of America and Orthodox Union have urged followers to vaccinate their children, and some schools and synagogues have said that only those who are vaccinated may attend.

Most people born after 1957 received a measles vaccine, but some have not, either for medical reasons or because they came from a country where it was not routinely done.

In 2000, the United States declared that the measles was eliminated from this country due to vaccination. But every year unvaccinated travelers get measles while they are in other countries and bring it back to the U.S., the CDC said. They can spread the disease to those who are not protected, which can lead to an outbreak.

Because of gaps in vaccine overage, various regions of the world have been hit in recent years with measles outbreaks, said the World Health Organization, which found that the number of people sickened with the virus in 2018 has exceeded the 2017 total.

The World Health Organization recommends that in addition to administering the vaccine to babies, adults or adolescents unsure of their immunity status should get a dose of measles vaccine before traveling overseas.

How measles spreads

Video: A brief history of the measles Here is a brief history of the measles, with information courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control. Video by Jordan Fenster/lohud.

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by a virus that is spread through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It is one of the most contagious viruses; 90 percent of unvaccinated people exposed to the virus become infected. It is possible to catch it by being in a room where an infected person has been up to two hours before.

Measles symptoms

Symptoms of measles include fever, cough, sore throat and, eventually, a skin rash that spreads over the body. It can cause serious complications such as pneumonia and encephalitis (swelling of the brain) and, in some cases, even death.

Worldwide measles cases

Worldwide, 19 cases of the measles per 1 million are reported each year and about 89,780 people die from the illness, said Kate Fowlie, a spokeswoman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Email: yellin@northjersey.com

Related: Could North Jersey be next for a measles outbreak?

More: Measles vaccines: What adults should know about being protected