There’s reason for positivity around Clark County’s ongoing measles outbreak.
On Wednesday, Clark County Public Health Director Dr. Alan Melnick updated the Clark County Board of Health on the outbreak, and said the recent slowdown in confirmed measles cases is a good sign.
“I’m cautiously optimistic,” Melnick said.
There are 65 confirmed measles cases in Clark County’s outbreak, and no suspected cases right now. A new Clark County case hasn’t been identified since Saturday. Melnick said the county would have to go two full incubation periods — 42 days — without a new case for the outbreak to be officially declared over. Clark County Public Health Public Information Officer Marissa Armstrong said response resources could be scaled back well before that 42-day mark if new cases aren’t developing.
The estimated Clark County cost for outbreak response has been $510,000. The total statewide response effort has crossed $1 million. Clark County has $750,000 budgeted for response efforts through March 14.
Since the beginning of the outbreak investigation, Clark County Public Health has reached 3,727 people for an initial interview regarding possible measles exposure. There have been 787 contacts on active monitoring, which means those people get a call from Public Health every day of the 21-day incubation period.
There are currently 241 people on either active monitoring or interactive voice recording active monitoring, which is an automated call system Public Health has utilized to contact people for efficiency’s sake.
Melnick told the board that 849 kids have now been excluded from school during the outbreak, which had its first exposure on Dec. 31 at PeaceHealth Urgent Care-Memorial. There have been 293 kids excluded from Evergreen Public Schools; 138 from Vancouver; 398 from Battle Ground, and 20 from Cornerstone Christian Academy, according to Public Health statistics.
In total, 54 exposure sites (some with multiple exposure times), have been identified by Public Health, Melnick said. That includes 15 schools and one child care facility, as well as the Moda Center at the Rose Quarter and Portland International Airport.
From Jan. 13 through Feb. 9, there were 2,740 measles vaccines administered to people younger than 18 in Clark County, according to Public Health. On average, 818 measles vaccines were administered to minors during the same time frame from 2014 to 2018.
Adults have seen similar jumps in vaccination rates, as 2,072 measles vaccinations were administered to people 19 and older from Jan. 13 to Feb. 9, while the 2014 to 2018 average in those same weeks was 84 measles vaccinations administered.
“My concern here is that after this outbreak fades from people’s memories … vaccination rates will drop again, and several years down the road, we’ll be facing the same thing again,” Melnick said.
Vaccination bills
The board of health, which is made up of the Clark County Council, also discussed vaccination legislation that would eliminate personal and philosophical exemptions for children in public and private schools in an attempt to raise the state’s vaccination rates. Councilor Gary Medvigy referred to President Abraham Lincoln, and called on people to “appeal to their better angel,” when considering vaccination.
Medvigy said the messaging on vaccination should possibly be tailored more toward letting people know that vaccinations can help protect vulnerable populations such as pregnant mothers, infants and immunosuppressed people who can’t receive the vaccine and are more likely to experience complications from measles.
“This isn’t really an issue of an individual’s personal right to decide not to be vaccinated,” Medvigy said. “It’s really an issue for a greater good. It’s an issue for the community at large.”
Council Chair Eileen Quiring said it’s important to balance parental choices for their children with a need protect others in the community.
“I understand the science,” she said. “I believe the science, and I am not anti-vaccination, but I am pro-parent choice, and pro-parents, so I do think we need to listen to where they are coming from, and I don’t think it’s always just from misinformation that they get on the web. I’ve heard from parents whose children have been affected, or they believe their children have been affected, by these vaccines.”
Melnick said he believes Public Health is doing a proper job with its measles messaging, but he added that Public Health will continue to work toward the best ways to respond to misinformation around vaccination.
“The other thing we’ve been careful not to do is to point the finger at anybody, or point the finger at parents who choose not to vaccinate,” Melnick said. “I don’t want to get in a position saying, ‘they don’t care.’ I think the vast majority of all parents care about their kids. Some of them are scared, and they respond to this misinformation. … I think we need to find some better way of reaching them without blaming anybody for not vaccinating. If we can get past the judgment and listen to people and their concerns, I think we’ll be a lot more effective.”
