CDC, doctors warning about potential measles outbreak due to pandemic

SAN ANTONIO - The CDC is warning about the possibility of a measles outbreak due to declining vaccination rates in children.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, Texas had an 89 percent measles vaccination rate in two-year-old children. Even though that number is high, it's already not high enough.

"One person with measles, if they're distributed in a crowd of susceptible people, can get about 15 other people sick, which mean that vaccines need to stay in the 93 to 95 percent range to keep measles from spreading," Dr. Cantey said.

We spoke with Dr. J.B. Cantey from the Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio, who says it's a real concern the number could drop due to concerns over going to the doctor.

"I think we're very worried we're going to start seeing measles transmission after already having one of the worst years in the last three decades in 2019," Cantey said.

Although measles is one of the most infectious pathogens, doctors say they're worried vaccine rates could decline for other illnesses too.

"It's not just measles, we'll start see to see more mumps, more rubella again, which we haven't seen in decades, we'll start to see more chicken pox," Cantey warned. "But as the vaccine rates continue to sink, we'll start to see things that we put to bed a long time ago."

So, what about adults?

When we think about shots for adults, we commonly think of the flu shot each year. Dr. Cantey says he hopes COVID-19 concerns will lead to an uptick in the number of people who get the flu shot this year.

"The more people we can get immunized against flu, the better chance we have of getting through this winter in the best possible condition, so I would hope that we would see an increase in flu vaccination rates but nothing would surprise me," Cantey said.

If you're on the fence about taking your kids to get their vaccines, doctors say there are a few simple steps you can take to keep you and your family safe.

• Follow CDC and SA Metro Health Guidelines.
• Wear a mask when in public.
• Pay attention to good hand hygiene.

"Going out in a safe way as a family to your physician's office to get your shots is probably one of the most important steps you could take to keep your family safe," Dr. Cantey said.

Dr. Cantey added measles, an airborne virus, could see an increase in cases once we head into fall or winter, but would not rule out the summer.