SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — As the United States is reporting the highest number of measles cases in over 30 years, Illinois public health leaders are celebrating a coordinated effort to prevent the spread of disease across the state.
Eight measles cases were identified in Southern Illinois in April and May, while two unrelated cases were found in Cook County around the same time. The Illinois Department of Public Health reported Friday that 42 days have passed since the last confirmed measles case in Illinois.
"IDPH, along with our partners in public health, healthcare and across state government, engaged in the necessary and effective advanced planning, nimble action and robust response to limit a potentially harrowing situation to fewer than a dozen cases and no serious illnesses," said IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra.
Still, Vohra said Illinoisans should make sure they are up to date on the measles mumps rubella vaccine and all other age-appropriate immunizations. Public health leaders said the MMR vaccine has proven to be much safer than getting a natural infection.
"The entire state of Illinois saw a nearly 50% increase in the number of individuals getting the measles vaccine in May compared to February, including individuals of all ages across the life span," said Dr. Jennifer Seo, pediatric medicine medical advisor for IDPH.Â
Although the Pritzker administration said Illinois continues to combat vaccine misinformation spread by President Donald Trump and HHS Secretary RFK Jr., doctors stress that multiple scientific studies have shown there is no link between autism and the MMR vaccine.
"We are maintaining standards to bring our residents in Illinois the most credible, meaningful, evidence-based information to make the decisions that matter," Vohra said.
According to the CDC, one dose of the MMR vaccine is 93% effective against measles, and two doses are 97% effective in protecting from the disease.
The Illinois Department of Public Health has a new data dashboard to track if there are any other potential measles outbreaks in Illinois. This dashboard makes it easy for people to find out the measles vaccination rate of any school in Illinois. It also determines the risk of a child being exposed to measles if a case pops up in their school.
You can find the IDPH measles simulator dashboard by clicking here.
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