COLUMBUS, Ohio — In early November, Columbus Public Health announced four measles cases linked to a Columbus area childcare facility. According to CPH, all of the patients were old enough to receive at least one dose of the MMR vaccine, but did not get it.
Now one month later, there have been 74 confirmed cases and 26 hospitalizations. Most of the patients are under the age of 5.
Health leaders say vaccination rates weren’t where they should be before the pandemic and the pandemic, combined with misinformation, may have made the problem worse.
Dr. Nora Colburn is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at OSU Wexner Medical Center. She is also the Medical Director of Clinical Epidemiology for the Ross Heart Hospital. She said she believes her role as a medical provider has evolved to now also include a responsibility of combating misinformation. She has been focused on efforts to share the facts about the MMR vaccine.
"I talked about vaccines with almost every single patient encounter, and I have encountered many patients who are hesitant about vaccines for a variety of reasons,” she explained. “So the way that I approach it, I really try to meet them where they are and understand and ask open-ended questions of what are your concerns about the vaccine? And is there any questions that I can answer?"
Education is something Dr. Mysheika Roberts, the Columbus Public Health Commissioner, is leading the charge on.
"To make sure we get all the right information out into the hands of the population that needs it the most,” she said.
Her department is also focused on making sure everyone has access to the vaccines they need.
“Our measles, mumps and rubella vaccination rates weren't great before the pandemic,” Dr. Roberts said. “Even after the pandemic, we know that access to care has been limited. For some people, some people have been reluctant to go into health care facilities or go inside in general."
Now that there is an outbreak she is also making sure people know the symptoms to watch for.
“Because some people have not seen measles because we've done such a great job with our vaccine program here in this country. So we want to make sure we provide that education to providers as well.”
The symptoms according to the CDC: high fever, cough, runny nose, and watery eyes. The Measles rash appears 3 to 5 days after the first symptoms.