Capo Kindergarten Vaccination Rates Too low for Herd Immunity From Measles

Capistrano Unified has a problem: like several districts in Orange County, kindergarten student vaccination rates are so low, they fall under the threshold for herd immunity from measles.

The number of confirmed measles cases has reached 68 statewide and 21 in Orange County. School districts like Capistrano Unified are in a precarious position with vaccination rates among kindergarteners well below the threshold for herd immunity, which occurs when enough people are immune from a disease to halt its spread through the community. Herd immunity is acquired either through vaccination or previous exposure to the virus, said Dr. Gil Chavez, Deputy Director, State Epidemiologist, California Department of Public Health. The phenomenon of herd immunity protects the people most vulnerable to a disease. This includes infants too young for vaccination, or people whose immunity is suppressed, for example, cancer patients.

For highly contagious diseases such as the measles, the threshold for herd immunity is estimated at a 92-94% immunity rate within the population, said Chavez. Anything below that and the virus is likely to spread through the community. About 90 percent of unvaccinated people who come into contact with the measles will get it, according to the Center for Disease Control.

However, only 83.8 percent of this year’s kindergarten population in the Capistrano Unified and Laguna Beach school districts are inoculated against measles, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency. Those school districts have the lowest kindergarten vaccination rates in the county, but Saddleback, Newport-Mesa and Huntington Beach school districts are also well below the threshold for herd immunity.

Huntington Beach is the only school district in the county with a confirmed case of measles, and unvaccinated students there were sent home for three weeks to avoid the spread of the disease.

Within the San Juan Capistrano Unified School District, school nurses are trained to look out for signs of the virus, said spokesman Alan Trudell. To stave off an outbreak, the district also published information about the importance of vaccination. The district also reaches out to kindergartener parents to encourage them to vaccinate their children, added Trudell. If a student contracts measles, Capo Unified would follow health department recommendations and send unvaccinated students home during the outbreak, he said.

It can be an uphill battle because affluent communities such as Orange County have such low vaccination rates. Many parents choose not to vaccinate their children for fear that vaccines are linked to autism - even though such theories are considered debunked by the medical community.

“(Measles) is in the community,” said Nicole Stanfield, spokesperson for the Orange County Health Care agency. While most of the California measles cases this year involve people who were exposed to the disease at Disneyland in December, there have already been 10 people who contracted the disease out in the community, she said.

“It can be a very, very serious illness,” said Stanfield. Symptoms include very high fevers, coughing, runny noses, and a severe rash that spreads over the body. Children under the age of five and adults over 20 suffer the most severe symptoms. Complications can sometimes be fatal. For every 1,000 children who contract the measles, roughly one or two will die because of the disease. Worldwide, 122,000 people die every year from the measles, according to the Center for Disease Control.

The CDC recommends all children get two doses of the MMR vaccine, starting with the first dose at 12 through 15 months of age, and the second dose at 4 through 6 years of age. Children can receive the second dose earlier, but it has to be at least 28 days after the first dose. If you suspect you have measles symptoms, call your healthcare provider before showing up at your doctor’s office, said Stanfield. To avoid the spread of the disease, doctors will take special precautions such as conducting exams in your car or a quarantined exam room.

In Orange County, schools districts with kindergarten vaccination rates below the threshold for herd immunity include:

• Capistrano Unified: 83.8 percent
• Laguna Beach Unified: 83.8 percent
• Newport Beach: at 85.1 percent