FAIRMONT – Across measles and the flu, vaccination rates are decreasing and concerns are rising.

The Center for Disease Control’s recommendation for measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) is getting the first dose at 12 to 15 months old and the second dose at 4 to 6 years old. The percentage of those in Martin County born in 2020 who have had their first shot is 91.2 percent, while the percentage for those born in 2022 is 79 percent.

These numbers are higher than the Minnesota averages of 84 percent and 76 percent respectively, but it shows a trend of decreasing vaccinations Martin and Faribault County Health and Human Services Director Chera Sevcik said she has seen over the last few years.

“There’s been a lot of information shared that might not be accurate, or not a lot of awareness or understanding about the vaccinations,” she said. “People believing vaccinations were connected to things like autism, which have been disproven. Some of those messages have resonated within our communities, and as a result we see people hesitating to become vaccinated.”

Sevcik said parents have the right to have concerns and questions regarding vaccines, which should be directed to their healthcare providers. She said measles is one of the most contagious diseases in the world, and less vaccinations mean more dangers.

“A lot of people think it’s just a rash that happens, but about one in five children will be hospitalized as a result of their measles,” Sevcik said. “They can go on to develop brain swelling or pneumonia, very serious conditions for children. That’s why the vaccine is so important. We see that when somebody coughs or sneezes with measles, that can stay in the air for about two hours after that person leaves.”

The goal Sevcik has set for an ideal vaccination rate across the board is 95 percent. At lower rates, she said communities are left vulnerable to a spread of measles.

“We would look at where there are pockets within Martin County we might have more kids that don’t have their up-to-date vaccinations,” Sevcik said. “Those would be the communities that are most at risk for us. It would only take one case of measles to start a chain event.”

There have already been two cases of measles in Minnesota, in the Twin Cities. A recent Axios report stated there have been over 1,000 cases of measles across 30 states in the current outbreak. Sevcik said they are doing as much as they can to educate and aid with vaccination costs, bearing the recent $165,000 funding cut.

“We had planned a more robust vaccination campaign to help educate the community,” she said. “We still plan to do a lot of that work. Without the funding, we don’t have a lot of capacity or funds for that. Our programs are relatively small funded [already]. We partner with our schools to get kids caught up with vaccinations whenever possible, working with our healthcare partners in the two counties.”

While the flu season is wrapping up, Sevcik said they are taking in the data to evaluate next steps. County data wasn’t available, but across Minnesota 362 people died during the 2024-25 flu season. That’s over 100 more deaths from the 224 sustained during the 2022-23 season.

“One of the things we’ve seen this year was a higher rate of the strain H1N1,” Sevcik said. “You may remember it from 2009, we had to have a special vaccination because it was the first time we’d ever seen that strain of influenza before.”

Only 45 percent of adults got a flu vaccine in Martin County during the most recent season. Sevcik said she would like to see that number at 70 percent or higher, but understands why the number is currently so low.

“Every year they try to predict what strains of influenza are going to be the most prevalent or cause the most concern,” she said. “Some years they do a really good job of predicting, and some years they don’t. Sometimes people feel the vaccine can be ineffective because of that characteristic trying to figure out which of the many strains are going to be of the troublemaker.”

Walgreens and CVS locations offer certain vaccinations, and Health and Human Services offers programs for low-income families needing assistance with vaccine payment.

For more information visit https://www.fmchs.com/ or call (507) 238-4757 for the Martin County Center or (507) 526-3265 for Faribault County.