At least two people have died of measles this year, a school-age child in West Texas and an unvaccinated adult in New Mexico. They are the first reported deaths from the illness in the U.S. since 2015.
Over 200 others in 12 states had been sickened as of March 6, mostly children and mostly unvaccinated individuals.
Measles is a highly contagious, airborne disease with no treatment. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say if one person is infected, up to nine out of 10 people nearby will catch it if they’re not vaccinated.
Wasatch County Health Department Executive Director Jonelle Fitzgerald said the best defense against measles is vaccination. The measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine is 97% effective at preventing the illness after two doses.
The CDC says a community must be 95% vaccinated to stop measles from spreading. But the Wasatch Back falls short of that standard.
According to Fitzgerald, for the 2023-24 school year, 89.9% of kindergartners had their MMR vaccines.
That’s slightly higher than in neighboring Summit County, where 87% of students started kindergarten with the vaccine.
Vaccination data for the 2024-25 school year is expected to be published this spring by Utah’s Department of Health and Human Services.
Fitzgerald said Utahns can check that they’re up to date on all their immunizations by visiting the state’s Docket website. Wasatch County residents can also call their primary care provider or the county health department to check their vaccine records.
She said anyone can schedule an appointment to get the MMR vaccine at the Wasatch County Health Department.
“We continue to recommend and promote immunization and have vaccines available here at the health department,” she said.
NPR reports an extra dose of the vaccine is also recommended for certain high-risk adults, including people working in health care and those who live or work closely with immunocompromised people.
As of Wednesday, Utah had no reported cases of the measles, a spokesperson for the state health department said.
