Living in Southern California, you can’t turn on the radio or TV without getting blasted with news about the measles outbreak. It’s literally everywhere! If you’re a mother of a baby younger than 12 months old (who can’t get the measles vaccine yet), then you’re probably glued to the heated discussions on Facebook mommy groups. I have never seen so many comments on posts with article clippings, research study quotes and personal stories of vaccinations going wrong. The latest measles outbreak hit a little too close to home however — it was at a high school where my church is held every Sunday, in the toddler room. Yikes! A poor infant was diagnosed with measles at the daycare, which caused all the other 14 infants to be quarantined and monitored.

This is not a post about what you should believe. This is not a post about what I think you should do, or who said what, or which side is worse, and so on. There are enough articles and posts about that. I’m just a nervous mom, with a 10 month old, trapped indoors and afraid of going to public places because who knows where the measles virus will be floating. Measles are highly contagious and can stay in the air for 2 hours after an infected person leaves the room.

Here are some current stats on the spread of the measles virus:

  • There are now 102 cases of the measles in the United States in 2015. Between 2001-2011, there were about 62 measles cases per year.
  • 59 out of those 102 cases were linked to the Disneyland outbreak (Happiest and germiest place on Earth?!)
  • 90% of unvaccinated patients will get the measles if exposed.

Here is a CDC chart showing the increase in measles cases via CNN:

cdc measles rates

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Symptoms of the measles to watch out for include:

  • fever
  • runny nose
  • white spots in mouth
  • general not feeling well, vomiting
  • dry cough
  • rash will appear days later

People like young children or the immuno-compromised that can’t get vaccinated benefit from the herd effect. My heart goes out to those who cannot have the vaccination due to health reasons. A 10-month old baby in Arizona contracted the measles, and his parents fear that he may spread it to his 3-year-old sister, whose immune system has been wiped out by leukemia.

Screen Shot 2015-02-06 at 10.42.55 AM
(source: nytimes)

How has this changed my life? A lot. I’m terrified of large, public groups. I don’t even want to go to church anymore with the baby because of the recent outbreak there. I made Baby Pencil’s appointment for his MMR shot the day after he turns 1 year old. I ask people if their kids have been vaccinated if we are doing playdates. I sanitize and wipe baby’s hands after touching anything in public, but I am more nervous when I see people coughing or sneezing since the measles is airborne.

Screen Shot 2015-02-06 at 10.45.33 AM
(source: CDC/WHO)

Wealthy areas like Santa Monica have some of the highest percentages of unvaccinated people. My pediatrician’s office (which is located in Santa Monica) has taken measures to be extremely careful and will not allow babies who have symptoms of the measles to even enter the facilities. They are asking them to stay outside while a nurse goes outside to do the check-up. There are even pediatricians who are kicking out any patients who are choosing not to vaccinate!

What is a mom of a child under one to do in the midst of a measles outbreak?