The Wasatch County Health Department confirmed Saturday, Nov. 22, five local high school students have measles. Tuesday morning, it said three more students have joined the list.
With eight measles cases at Wasatch High, county Health Director Jonelle Fitzgerald said students without the full two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine should stay home for three weeks.
“Our recommendation is that unvaccinated students at Wasatch High School don’t go to school from the last known exposure date, which at this time is Nov. 18,” she said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” Nov. 25.
For vaccinated students, the risk is low: the recommended two doses are 97% effective at preventing the virus.
Wasatch County Health Department medical director Erick Christensen said the vaccine is safe – and it provides protection even if it’s administered shortly after a measles exposure.
“The vaccine, in and of itself, is very safe,” he said. “We do recommend people, if you’ve had exposure to someone with measles, to get the MMR vaccine. If you get that within 72 hours, that can provide prevention of you either getting the infection or reducing the symptoms of the infection.”
Individuals with health insurance can get the MMR vaccine for free. The health department also offers free or reduced-price vaccines for those who are uninsured, depending on their income.
Although measles was considered eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, Fitzgerald said lower vaccination rates have caused a resurgence of the disease nationwide, including nearly 100 cases in Utah this year.
“Ten years ago, we did have herd immunity at 95% or more, and now we don’t have that,” she said.
Of Utah’s 13 health districts, Wasatch County students have the second-highest rate of vaccine exemptions in the state. For the 2024-2025 school year, state data shows 14.6% of the county’s seventh graders had an exemption. That’s up from 5.9% five years ago, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Only the Southwest health district – which covers Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane and Washington counties – had a higher exemption rate last school year, with 19% of seventh graders opting out of vaccines.
The Wasatch County health district also has the largest share of seventh graders in the state without two doses of the MMR vaccine: 13% for the 2024-2025 school year.
The latest information about measles cases in Utah is available on the state dashboard.
