 Washington is experiencing an outbreak of measles in Clark County, with spread to King County and Multnomah County in Oregon. Measles is extremely contagious, and can be dangerous, especially for young children. If exposed to the virus, anyone who is not immune is likely to get measles. Rare, but serious, complications from measles includes dehydration, pneumonia, intellectual disability caused by encephalitis (swelling of the brain), permanent hearing loss, and death.
Current information about the measles outbreak, the Suspect Measles Case Checklist, the Measles Reporting Guidelines, and patient education materials in multiple languages can be found on the DOH Measles in Washington web page. Healthcare providers should consider measles in patients presenting with febrile rash illness and symptoms compatible with measles. Take an opportunity to check the immunization status of your patients and staff, recall patients who may need to be vaccinated, and contact your local health department if measles is suspected.
Washington has sufficient MMR vaccine doses for children and adults.
Vaccine ordering remains the same. MMR orders are being treated as urgent ONLY for those counties with confirmed measles cases. Urgent vaccine orders for MMR need to be submitted in the Immunization Information System (IIS) by 9:30am Monday through Thursday for next-day delivery. If you have questions about ordering, please email WAChildhoodvaccines@doh.wa.gov or call 360-236-2VAX.
Providers enrolled in the Childhood Vaccine Program all have access to MMR vaccine. Providers enrolled in the Adult Vaccine Program can also access MMR vaccine for un/underinsured adults.
Providers should continue to administer MMR vaccine at the current recommended schedule: 12-15 months, and 4-6 years of age. Local public health officials may decide, as a local outbreak control measure, to recommend MMR vaccine for infants 6 through 11 months or MMR dose 2 to be given a minimum of 4 weeks after dose 1 instead of waiting until age 4 through 6 years. Infants 6 through 11 months may continue to receive MMR vaccine if traveling internationally. We will let providers know if these recommendations change. A third dose of MMR vaccine is recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices only during a mumps outbreak, not a measles outbreak.
Patients can check their own and their family’s immunization records on MyIR to be certain that they’re up-to-date on all recommended doses of MMR vaccine. MyIR accesses the state database to pull immunization information. Other ways of requesting immunization records can be found here. If someone is unable to find an immunization record, recommend they receive MMR vaccine, which is safe even if they were previously vaccinated, or check for immunity by a blood test.
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