Inslee Declares Health Emergency for Washington State Over Measles Outbreak

From the Seattle Times:

With an outbreak of measles centered in Clark County, Gov. Jay Inslee Friday announced a state of emergency, calling the situation an “extreme public-health risk that may quickly spread to other counties.”

As of Friday afternoon, there were 30 confirmed cases in Clark County, and a single known case in King County after a man in his 50s contracted measles and was hospitalized after a recent trip to Vancouver, according to the state Department of Health (DOH). Clark County Public Health reports an additional nine suspected measles cases.

On Jan. 18, Clark County declared its own local public-health emergency after the outbreak. Twenty-six of those suffering from the disease had not been immunized and the vaccination status of four others was unverified. Researchers called nearby Portland a “hot spot” for infections due to a high rate of nonmedical exemptions from vaccines, according to The Washington Post.

Twenty-one of the 30 people infected in Clark County are under 10 years old, with eight between the ages of 11 and 18 and a lone case of someone between 19 and 29, according to the county’s Public Health Department. One person in Clark County has been hospitalized.

Measles symptoms include fever, rash, cough and red, watery eyes, according to Public Health — Seattle & King County. The highly contagious disease can be easily spread through the air when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes.

To note, the guy in King County went to two high school basketball games which means a closed indoor space with many people packed in.

There is already a bill in this session of the Legislature to change vaccination requirements.

In the bill:
- every child in public or private school or daycare has to be immunized.
- in sixth grade parents will be provided information:

 - about meningococcal disease (meningitis) and its vaccine at the beginning of every school year. The information about meningococcal disease shall include: 

- about human papillomavirus disease (HPV) and its vaccine at the beginning of every school year.

 You can opt out of vaccinations a couple of ways (with one big exception):

- A written certification signed by a health care practitioner that a particular vaccine required by rule of the state board of health is, in his or her judgment, not advisable for the child: PROVIDED, That when it is determined that this particular vaccine is no longer contraindicated, the child will be required to have the vaccine; 

-  A written certification signed by any parent or legal guardian of the child or any adult in loco parentis to the child that the religious beliefs of the signator are contrary to the required immunization measures; or 

- A written certification signed by any parent or legal guardian of the child or any adult in loco parentis to the child that the signator has either a philosophical or personal objection to the immunization of the child. A philosophical or personal objection may not be used to exempt a child from the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine. 

Any parent or legal guardian of the child or any adult in loco parentis to the child who exempts the child due to religious beliefs pursuant to subsection (1)(b) of this section is not required to have the form provided for in (a) of this subsection signed by a health care practitioner if the parent or legal guardian demonstrates membership in a religious body or a church in which the religious beliefs or teachings of the church preclude a health care practitioner from providing medical treatment to the child.

The CDC’s immunization recommendation is 90 percent.

Many counties in Washington fall below the recommendation, including:
Clark County: 76 percent
King County: 85 percent
Pierce County: 88 percent
Thurston County: 84 percent
Snohomish County: 85 percent