One Mom Explains How Measles Outbreaks Can Cause Havoc For Daycare Families

Great news, everyone! Cases of the measles in the U.S. are at a 30 year high! We did it! U-S-A! U-S-A! Oh. Did I say “great news?” I meant the opposite of that. It’s a tragedy.

Currently, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are reporting 1,319 cases across 40 jurisdictions — and two children have already died. TikTok creator Martha (@martharoseyy) was recently in a country with an outbreak, and even though no one in her family has contracted the illness, the very presence has severely affected them all.

She recently found out her son had been exposed to measles at daycare by another parent. Due to the highly virulent nature of the illness — 9 out of 10 people exposed will get sick if they are not protected, either through vaccination or previous infection — he has to quarantine for 28 days.

The first dose of the vaccine that protects against measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) is given between 12 and 15 months of age. Fully immunized individuals enjoy 97% protection against the potentially deadly disease. Earlier vaccination is possible, but there’s usually no particular reason to pursue that option since measles is largely eradicated in the U.S. But since 2000, vaccination levels have waned and the highly virulent disease has cropped up throughout the country.

Martha explains that since her son is only nine months old, he does not have the vaccine, and so is not allowed at daycare.

“So now we are on our way to the ER to get an immunoglobulin shot so that he potentially doesn’t get measles … and then we’re going to get the vaccine eventually, [but] who knows, because there’s a huge outbreak in my county right now, so they’re being overrun with people wanting to get the vaccine and nobody can get it,” she laments.

Martha further explains that with the daycare closed, effectively, for the next month, she doesn’t know how she and her husband are going to be able to go to work, to say nothing of the babies who had been exposed to measles.

She concludes with a plea:

“Get your kids vaccinated. I’m not sure why this is controversial. I don’t know why you would want to set your kids up to potentially get measles. You know you can die from measles? Your children can literally die. They can pass away. You can never see them again because you are not getting vaccinated. … You are harming everybody else.”

“Herd immunity” levels for measles must reach 95% immunization within a community. Prior to the vaccine, an estimated three million people per year would become infected. While measles can be deadly, it usually isn’t. Fortunately, most people come through measles just fine and no worse for wear. But the danger of the illness lies in the numbers: since it spreads so rapidly through unprotected populations, and since someone is contagious for four days prior to the tell-tale spots of the illness (and four days after), carriers can spread measles without even knowing it.

For every 1,000 cases, between one and three people will die, even with dedicated medical care. And so, the more cases, the more opportunities this virus has to kill. Prior to widespread vaccination, between 400 and 500 people died every year in the U.S. There’s no telling who will experience complications and who won’t.

According to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, about one in 20 children who get measles will develop pneumonia and one in 1,000 will develop encephalitis — a swelling of the brain that can cause permanent damage, including memory loss, epilepsy, emotional problems, and personality and behavioral changes. Pregnant people who contract measles may experience babies with low birth weight or preterm birth.

Currently, 21% of children under five who have contracted measles have been hospitalized as well as 8% of 5 to 19 year olds, and 11% of those 20 and older — 13% of the infected population overall, though experts believe cases are being under-reported.