Measles outbreak of 20 kids reveals most weren’t vaccinated

All the children are aged 5 and under. 

MINNEAPOLIS — A measles outbreak among 20 children aged 5 and under in the Minneapolis area has revealed an alarming fact.

Almost all of them were not vaccinated for the disease.

Bridget Pfaff with Gundersen Health System’s infection control in La Crosse says they try to reassure parents who don’t trust vaccines

“There’s a lot more devastation and death from the infectious diseases,” Pfaff said. “There’s certainly is not evidence-based medicine out there to indicate that vaccines pose an additional risk to individuals in our society.”

Kris Ehresmann, infectious disease director at the Minnesota Health Dept., says the outbreak could exceed the 2011 outbreak of 26 cases.

“Measles is one of the most contagious of any of the infectious diseases,” Pfaff said. “If you have 10 susceptible people in a room with measles being spread, nine of those people will get measles.”

Children should get their first shot after 12 months and a booster around age 5.