DENVER — The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is hoping the community will help out in building more herd immunity against measles, especially for babies too young to be vaccinated, now that there are three confirmed cases in Colorado.
“I think as scary as it is to see these couple cases, we know that there's something that works, that's out there and that can be used to protect us,” said Dr. Danielle Dhaliwal.
Dr. Dhaliwal is the medical director of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children.
- Where are Colorado's measles cases? Check out the map below to see which counties have been affected so far.
She said if a mom is vaccinated, she passed along some immunity to her baby. That protection starts to wane when babies reach 6 months old, according to Dr. Dhaliwal. Kids don’t typically get their first measles shot until 12 months old at the earliest.
If you're traveling to a place with an outbreak, Dr. Dhaliwal said talking with your pediatrician and daycare provider about vaccinating your child for measles earlier than 12 months should be a conversation worth having so they can answer any questions.
State
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“It's a bit of a gray zone right now,” Dr. Dhaliwal said. “I think you have to have that conversation with your pediatrician and see if it makes sense for each individual family to pursue that vaccine early. Based on, you know, the community you live in, vaccination rates and your kind of risk tolerance.”
It’s why the state health department is encouraging people to get vaccinated if they haven’t already, writing in an e-mail:
“High immunization rates in a community protect those who are most vulnerable, including infants under 12 months of age. When people make the choice to vaccinate themselves and their children, the protection they receive extends to others, like infants or those who have health conditions that prevent them from being vaccinated.”
The state health department said that Colorado law requires all kids attending a state-licensed childcare or school to be up to date, or in the process of getting up-to-date, for all school-required vaccines or get a medical exemption. Same goes for staff members.
The state said staff at state-licensed childcare centers actually sign a statement saying they are up-to-date on their shots.
CDPHE said right now, there is not a measles outbreak in Colorado, sharing in an e-mail:
“There is not currently a measles outbreak in Colorado as we do not have evidence that the cases had any connection to each other. Per public health definition, an outbreak would be once Colorado has three or more related cases of measles.”
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