Nurse asks parents to NOT take their children to the emergency room for suspected measles

WASHINGTON (7News) — The number of Measles cases in the U.S. so far this year has already surpassed the total number of cases for 2024. At least 483 cases have been confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) across more than a dozen states.

Measles is highly contagious and can be very serious, even deadly. So far in the U.S., one school-aged child in Texas has died after contracting the disease; the child was not vaccinated. Another death in New Mexico remains under investigation by the CDC.

Dr. Lou Bartolo, the President of the Maryland Nurses Association, told 7News that the measles poses a high risk to all age groups. Across the board, he said that medical experts are seeing an uptick in anti-vaccination sentiments. The CDC reported that 97% of the cases this year have been in people who are not vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status.

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Bartolo said that getting the vaccine outweighs any risks of vaccine side effects or having a case of the measles. He added that the risk of side effects is low for healthy children and adults.

Dr. Bartolo said people who have been vaccinated against the virus should not worry about re-contracting the disease.

If you have been fully vaccinated, it's very unlikely that you would contract measles during any of these outbreaks. So, there's no concern at that point if you've been fully vaccinated. But if you're not sure of your vaccination status, that's when you need to go to your healthcare provider. Explain to them that you don't know your status, and you would like to get that measles vaccine, the MMR. And 2 different doses that they'll require you to have.

The measles vaccine does not have a booster. Dr. Bartolo said measles does not change year-to-year, like the flu or COVID-19. After the two required doses, people are fully vaccinated against the virus, he said.

Those most at risk, the doctor said, are small children because of how symptoms are displayed.

A lot of times the symptoms in children, you'll see, [are] more of a coughing, sneezing, [or] fever. These symptoms can come across as other health concerns that parents may have. They just don't think about it as measles, because it's something that at one time we didn't see as often. Once [children] experience these symptoms, then it develops further into where you start to get the red bumps and the rash. And if you see this happening, you want to call your pediatrician or your pediatric nurse practitioner. It's best if you don't go into the office if you start seeing this. Call them first, because if it truly is a case of measles, you don't want to start spreading it to other people that could be in the clinic or an emergency room setting.

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Dr. Bartolo said it's never too late to get your vaccine. He said if you are unsure of your vaccination status, take certain medications or have a weakened immune system, you should contact your physician to determine if you should take the vaccine.