Measles has hit Ohio in a big way, the state health department announced Wednesday.
“Given the measles activity in Texas, New Mexico, and other states around the country, we’re disappointed but not surprised we now have several cases here in Ohio and known exposure in some counties,” said Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Director Bruce Vanderhoff. “This disease can be very serious, even deadly, but it is almost entirely avoidable by being properly vaccinated.”
Apart from one case, an outbreak of 10 people in Ohio’s Ashtabula County has been linked to one unvaccinated man, according to an ODH report. There is also a confirmed case in Knox County.
As of March 27, a total of 483 confirmed measles cases were reported by 20 jurisdictions in the U.S. Of these cases, there have been five confirmed outbreaks — the CDC defines an outbreak as three or more related cases — Ohio is one of those five outbreak areas.
In Ohio, none of the individuals currently infected with measles were vaccinated, according to ODH. This is especially dangerous for children, according to Dr. Vanderhoff.
“I strongly urge all parents across Ohio to make sure your children are vaccinated,” Dr. Vanderhoff said. “It is a crucial layer of protection that can save lives.”
Most kids recover from measles, but health officials and doctors are concerned about Ohio’s outbreak because it spreads quickly and can be deadly for some children.
Dr. Robert Frenck is the Director of the Vaccine Research Center at Cincinnati Children’s.
“It’s a respiratory virus. It starts in your lungs and so forth, and then you start to get a runny nose, cough, and then after that, you oftentimes get red eyes, and then the rash starts,” Dr. Frenck said. “One of the problems with measles is that it’s the most contagious before you start to see the red eyes and the rash. […] Is it most likely the child is going to recover from measles and be okay? The answer is, yes. However, there are serious outcomes from measles. You can go blind, you can go deaf, you can have permanent neurological problems – having [an intellectual disability] – and you can die from measles.”
Measles was declared eliminated from the United States in 2000, according to the CDC. Dr. Frenck said about three out of 1,000 children died from measles before the vaccine became widely available, but some vulnerable kids still aren’t able to get vaccinated — their protection hinges on the general public.
“It’s not common, but like kids that are being treated for cancer, or sometimes you have a primary immune defect, something like that, they really can’t get the measles vaccine,” he said. “They’re counting on us to protect them.”
But parents have become increasingly skeptical of vaccines in recent years. Rates for the MMR vaccine (measles-mumps-rubella) have dipped slightly in Ohio. Rates for Ohio kindergartners dropped from 89.2% in the 2023-2024 school year to 88.3% in the current school year, according to ODH. A 2023 study published in the National Library of Medicine found “fear of autism” was the most cited reason among parents for MMR vaccine hesitancy.
“The measles vaccine is very safe, it’s very effective. The measles vaccine does not cause autism,” said Dr. Frenck. “What the vaccine does is it keeps you from getting measles.”
Dr. Frenck told CityBeat the first dose of the MMR vaccine is routinely recommended at 12 months of age.
“That one dose is about somewhere around 93% effective,” Dr. Frenck said. “So that means, instead of 100 people getting measles if they were exposed, only seven would. When you give the second dose, that bumps it up to around between 97-98%, so now if you’re exposed to measles, only two-three out of 100 people would get measles, versus 100.”
That second dose is usually recommended when children are between 4 and 6 years old, but Dr. Frenck said parents can get their toddlers vaccinated much earlier.
“Scientifically, as long as there’s three months between the first and second dose, and the first doses after 12 months of age, then you could get the second dose,” Dr. Frenck said. “The reason that we waited the 4 to 6 years of age is because parents are busy, and we already have them coming into the doctor’s office fairly frequently for their kids. We were trying to not create another visit.”
CityBeat asked Dr. Frenck what his advice would be to vaccine-skeptical parents amid Ohio’s measles outbreak.
“Parenting is probably the toughest job that we have and you’re trying to do the right thing for your child, and I appreciate that,” he said. “What I would suggest, though, is you go talk to your health care provider. You’re going to a health care provider because you trust them to be providing care for your child. Ask them your questions. Don’t be afraid to ask your questions. Asking questions is not bad, it’s actually good because then you can have an informed decision.”
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This article appears in Mar 19 – Apr 2, 2025.