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FAIRMONT - With measles hitting its largest number of total cases in Minnesota in 36 years, local health officials are hoping to see more people be safe and get vaccinated.
So far, there have been 80 total cases of measles in Minnesota, including an outbreak of 63 since mid-September in Fillmore and Todd counties. No cases have been reported in Martin County or the surrounding counties.
Faribault Martin County Health and Human Services (FMCHS) Public Health Sanitarian Tim Langer said measles is a virus that can spread very easily through breathing.
"If we had a meeting in our community room and there was an individual that had measles, that virus can survive up to two hours in that room. Nine out of 10 people that are exposed, if they are susceptible, unvaccinated, or don’t have immunity, can contract measles."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the first dose of Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) at 12 to 15 months and the second dose at 4 to 6 years. Currently, the vaccination rate for Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) is 75 percent in Martin County.
While county-specific data is not available, 74 percent of Minnesotans across the board are currently vaccinated for the flu. Currently, there have been 121 hospitalizations, four long-term care center outbreaks and two adult flu-associated deaths. This is the earliest into the flu season in the last three flu seasons there has been two or more deaths.
Across RSV, COVID and the flu, signs are already showing of flu season approaching. Throughout the summer in Greater Minnesota, including Martin County, numbers were miniscule. Starting in October the number of hospitalizations for respiratory viruses has gone up to two cases per 100,000 people a week. Last year hospitalizations peaked around Christmas, with 26 hospitalizations per 100,000 people.
Compared to previous years, Langer said the numbers have continued to go down from where they would prefer to see vaccination rates at across all vaccines, which is at least 95 percent. Langer said this decrease has come in part from skepticism in the public through COVID.
"For personal reasons, people choose not to get vaccinated, but I think that’s a big part of it," he said.
To combat this declining vaccination rate overall, Langer said they are always trying to educate people through FMCHS.
"We have active social media pages that discuss what your options are, the importance of getting vaccinated," he said. "That’s a big one for us. We need more education on why this is important, and that’s our goal, to try to educate people on why we feel it’s important to get vaccinated for your safety."
While there are people across Minnesota who have rejected vaccinations, for religious reasons or otherwise, Langer said there are no large pockets here like in other areas.
Currently, Langer said there is no threat to Martin County, as there have been no cases of the measles here or in any of the other surrounding counties. He did say now would be a good time to look into your vaccination status to ensure you are safe.
"If you work with your medical provider and determine if you should get vaccinated, it’s a great time to start thinking about that if you want to protect yourself from this illness. There are kids that may have had one dose of vaccine and maybe forgot the second dose. These are all things that you can do in conjunction with your medical provider to ensure that you have adequate coverage."
Because the vaccination rate is 20 points lower than FMCHS would prefer, Langer said there is absolutely a possibility for measles to make it to Martin County.
"With that lowered protection level throughout the state, I think there’s always a chance that we could have a case in Martin County," he said.
Besides checking with your medical provider, Langer said you can also check with pharmacies like Walgreens and Sterling Pharmacy. He said prices vary amongst each vaccine, but most preventative activities like vaccines are generally covered by insurance
FMCHS offers vaccination programs with additional support for uninsured or underinsured people.
"We have applied for grants to do vaccinations and targeted outreach to people to get vaccinated," he said. "There have been recent federal funding cuts that have reduced the grants, so the vaccination process is really dependent on the grants, but we do have staff on hand that do vaccinations."