SPOKANE, Wash. — With measles on the rise, school districts throughout the Inland Northwest are preparing for potential measles cases and working to keep students safe and healthy.
On Wednesday, health officials confirmed the third measles case in Idaho over the last month. As the infection continues to spread, schools are dusting off their response plans and making sure they know exactly which students could be at risk if the highly contagious disease shows up in their classrooms.
For unvaccinated students in Washington, being exposed to measles means missing a lot more than just a few days of class. They’ll be kept out of school for three full weeks after exposure, even if their families have exemptions on file.
“We follow state law on that, and one thing about us at Spokane Public Schools is that we are always on top of our students’ immunization status,” said Becky Doughty of Spokane Public Schools.
The district has set up systems to quickly identify which students aren’t vaccinated and work with health officials if an outbreak happens.
“We are ready, at this point in time, to deal with any sort of possible measles outbreak,” Doughty said. “We know who all of our students are who have exemptions or, who are not immune. And we can run reports from our system to be able to, really quickly, work with the health department to help support those families.”
The prospect of students missing three weeks of school has health officials pushing hard for families to get vaccinated before classes start.
In Washington, more than 90% of kindergartners are up to date on their Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine. In comparison, Idaho ranks last in the country for MMR vaccination, with 78.5% of kindergarteners fully vaccinated.
“We don’t want to have disruptions, in terms of people’s education or work,” said Mark Springer of the Spokane Regional Health District. “And that’s why we want to get people thinking about getting up-to-date on their MMR vaccine.”
Not every district has figured out all the details yet. The Coeur d’Alene School District is still working through how it’ll handle exclusions for students with exemptions.
It’s a pressing concern for schools, as the virus spreads quickly and easily. Health officials say you should know the signs of potential infection. Symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose and a rash that spreads across the body.
If your family still needs to get caught up on vaccinations, the Spokane Regional Health District is hosting a clinic on August 27 at Shaw Middle School.
The clinic will run from 3 -6 p.m. No appointments; walk-ins only.
For more information on the clinic, visit www.srhd.org.
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