Local health officials are making the vaccine available as measles cases spike elsewhere in the United States.
Texas is the center of the outbreak, with 198 cases and one confirmed death. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report one death in New Mexico, too. Prior to the outbreak, the last U.S. measles death was in 2015, the agency says.
“Back 50, 60 years ago, measles wasn't having the result it's having now, but it still will have the result that if you get sick while traveling, it is going to ruin your vacation,” Summit County Health Director Phil Bondurant said. “That goes for people traveling here to Texas or traveling here from Texas as well.”
Data released by the University of Utah Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute in April 2024 shows Texas was the fourth-largest out-of-state market for Utah ski resorts. Texans accounted for 3% of all skiers during the 2022-2023 season.
Measles is a preventable, but untreatable, disease caused by an infectious airborne virus. That means that people who get it have to let it run its course. Symptoms are flu-like, plus a rash.
According to Bondurant, the county’s kindergartner vaccination rate is 87%, which is below herd immunity, or 95%.
“We have one of the highest exemption rates in the state of Utah, individuals that are exempting or choosing not to vaccinate their children,” Bondurant continued.
There are two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine. Bondurant said the first dose gives recipients 91% immunity, and the second gives 99% immunity.
If a vaccinated person does catch the measles — called a “breakthrough case” — that case is usually less severe.
“And then, of course, to disprove the myth that the MMR vaccine causes autism, all of those have been studied at length to ensure that the measles vaccine is safe and it's reputable and it's effective,” the health director said.
Bondurant said the county health department has experienced an uptick in calls about the MMR vaccine. He added the health department has an ample supply and offers the shots to insured and uninsured patients.
