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From January 1 to March 28, 2019, 387 individual cases of measles have been confirmed in 15 states.  This is the second-greatest number of cases reported in the U.S. since measles was eliminated in 2000.

Image/CDC
Image/CDC

In fact, the number of cases to date has eclipsed the total measles cases in all of 2018 (372).

This has prompted the American Medical Association (AMA) today to issue the following statement concerning vaccines:

“Getting vaccinated not only keeps individuals from becoming ill with the measles but also helps prevent further spread to loved ones, neighbors, co-workers and others in close contact,” said AMA President Barbara L. McAneny, M.D.

“As evident from the measles outbreaks currently impacting communities in several states, when individuals are not immunized as a matter of personal preference or misinformation, they put themselves and others at risk of disease. The overwhelming scientific evidence shows that vaccines are among the most effective and safest interventions to both prevent individual illness and protect the health of the public. We are also reminding physicians to talk with their patients about the health risks associated with not being vaccinated and make a strong recommendation for vaccinations, unless medically inadvisable.

“The reductions we have seen in vaccination coverage threaten to erase many years of progress as nearly eliminated and preventable diseases return, resulting in illness, disability and death. To protect our communities’ health, it is vital that individuals not be permitted to opt out of immunizations solely as a matter of convenience or misinformation, particularly because of the risk to people who cannot be vaccinated—including children too young to be vaccinated, cancer patients and other immunosuppressed patients. When immunization rates are high, people who cannot be protected directly by vaccines are protected because they are not exposed to the disease. The AMA strongly supports legislation that eliminates non-medical exemptions from immunizations, and we will continue to actively urge policymakers to eliminate non-medical exemptions from immunizations.”