WESTON, Fla. – Measles recently infected half a dozen Broward County Public Schools students even though it can be prevented by two doses of vaccine.
The Florida Department of Health was investigating the measles cluster first reported six days ago at Manatee Bay Elementary, at 19200 Manatee Isles Drive, in Weston.
Dr. Marcos Mestre, a nationally recognized pediatrician, said kids typically get the first dose of the Measles, Mumps, Rubella, or MMR, vaccine, at age one and the second between the ages of 4 and 6.
“For those individuals that aren’t vaccinated, then at that point, it does become an increased risk and an increased risk not only to the child but also to others, possibly to other individuals in the home,” said Mestre, the vice president and chief medical officer of Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami-Dade County.
On Wednesday, Broward County Superintendent Peter Licata reported that 33 out of 1,067 Manatee Bay Elementary School students did not have the vaccine.
“We have seen a delay in immunizations for children,” Mestre said.
U.S. health authorities had declared the highly contagious airborne virus “eliminated” in 2000, but that has changed. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that over 61 million vaccine doses were “postponed or missed” from 2020-22 and also warned there was “an increase in the number of travelers” who had brought it into “communities with pockets of unvaccinated people.”
The World Health Organization recently called for “urgent” preventative measures due to a “high measles risk” — mainly due to the missed vaccinations during the pandemic.
On Tuesday, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo distributed a letter to parents and guardians of students at Manatee Bay Elementary citing a “high immunity rate” in the community in Weston, a community also known as “Westonzuela” because of its ties to Venezuela.
Measles can spread four days before symptoms show up. Ladapo asked parents to “watch” for symptoms such as a rash, a high fever or a cough, a runny nose, or red, watery eyes. He also advised that “it is normally recommended” that children stay home until the end of the 21-day infectious period.
“DOH is deferring to parents or guardians to make decisions about school attendance,” Ladapo wrote.
The district reported there were 219 Manatee Bay Elementary students absent on Tuesday, 174 absent on Wednesday, and 168 absent on Thursday. The district and FDOH teamed up to provide free vaccines to students at the school.
The CDC, which monitors vaccine safety, warns that “anyone who has ever had a life-threatening allergic reaction to the antibiotic neomycin, should not get the vaccine. Mestre said the pediatricians’ consensus is that the risks of side effects are low and the benefits outweigh the risks.
“We have to make an extra effort — and this just shows why we need to continue to vaccinate and stay up to date with the childhood immunization schedules,” Mestre said.
TIMELINE of reports related to cluster
- Six days ago: First case
- Five days ago: Four cases
- Three days ago: Five cases
- Two days ago: Six cases
READ the letter
ARCHIVES: Related reports