The measles outbreak that started at Disneyland could provide a trigger for the disease to come “roaring back,” officials from the Baltimore City Health Department and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health said on Monday.
The two entities held a “measles symposium” at Hopkins to address the outbreak, and the growing number of people choosing not to inoculate their children against the highly contagious disease. There was much talk of “teachable moments” and explanation of how a disease that was thought to be eradicated in the 1980s could return.
Amid the academic talk, they didn’t shy away from taking a position. Newly-appointed City Health Commissioner Leana Wen was joined by 10 pediatricians and JHU officials in releasing a statement that urges parents to get their children the MMR (Measles Mumps Rubella) vaccine.
“Vaccines are more than individual choice; they are our obligation to one another,” the statement said.
Read it in full here.
