Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Of Emergency Declared In Washington As Measles Outbreak Grows To More Than 30
The number of confirmed measles cases near Portland grew to 31 on Friday — an outbreak boosted by lower-than-normal vaccination rates in what has been called an anti-vaccination U.S. "hot spot." Public health officials in southwest Washington, just across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon, said people may have been exposed to the dangerous disease at more than three dozen locations, including Portland International Airport, a Portland Trail Blazers game, an Amazon Locker location and stores such as Costco and Ikea. (1/25)
Twenty-one of the cases were in children under 10 years old. Officials reported that there are eight cases of measles in teenagers and one who is an adult. (Rodrigo, 1/26)
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. (Goldstein-Street, 1/25)
Alan Melnick is frustrated and open to new ideas. The Clark County health officer and his staff are on the fourth week of a public health crisis that Washington hasn’t seen before and he suspects that the measles outbreak that has already claimed 23 people at that point will only grow larger for the foreseeable future. But what has him so frustrated he is seeking input is that the rapid-fire spread of the sometimes-fatal disease is preventable. But for years the vaccination rates in Clark County have remained well below the threshold to stop a highly contagious disease like measles from ravaging a community. (Harbarger, 1/26)
In other news —
Two vaccine skeptics have been appointed to a new Minnesota state council on autism, alarming public health advocates who worry they will promote the hoax linking vaccines to autism. The MN Autism Council, formed last year by Republican state Sen. Jim Abeler, was aimed at advising the Minnesota Legislature on autism and public policy. But the makeup of the council is raising concerns, The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Thursday. (Gstalter, 1/25)
