COLUMBUS, Ohio — As a new parent, Lindsey Robinson thought protecting her baby from COVID-19 and RSV was challenging enough.
“I was honestly really worried when I found out I was pregnant because we had just got out of like, the COVID period. But then we found out about measles.”
Ashton, who is just 5 months old, went to urgent care earlier this month because he had RSV.
“It was terrifying,” Robinson said. “It was really hard to see him going through that.”
Days later just when Ashton was starting to feel better Robinson would be dealt another blow. Her local health department called, Morrow County, telling her Ashton had been exposed to a confirmed case of measles during his urgent care visit.
“My only thought is, is he going to come out of this OK?"
Ashton is too young to get the MMR vaccine to protect against measles. Robinson is among the many parents monitoring for symptoms as directed through health leaders conducting contact tracing amid the outbreak -- which has now spread to Clark County. The health commissioner there confirmed one case in a young infant -- also too young to be vaccinated.
“This is not a choice,” Charles Patterson said, Clark County Health Commissioner. “On the parent’s part, this is clearly an exposure to another child with measles. And the parents couldn't have done anything differently there. They're doing everything they can right now to make sure their little one is going to recover fully from this virus.”
For children who are too young for a vaccine -- there may be a treatment option depending on how recent the exposure happened -- a physician can determine that.
And for children who received one MMR dose -- doctors say during this outbreak they may also be eligible to receive the 2nd dose sooner -- instead of waiting until age 4.
"We [use] vaccines to make sure that the public is protected, not just the person getting the vaccine,” Patterson said.
Robinson is sharing her message for other parents to stay up to date on vaccines for their children.
“You should think of others,” she said.
She will monitor and quarantine Ashton for 21 days, which means they’ll have to miss out on their family’s Christmas celebration this year. So far he has not shown any symptoms of measles and appears to be feeling OK.
The Ohio Department of Health Laboratory is working seven days a week for the ongoing measles response, according to an ODH spokesperson.
"Measles can be prevented with the MMR vaccine, which is safe and highly effective. Nearly all of the individuals impacted by the current outbreak have been unvaccinated; some have been too young for vaccination," ODH said.
ODH says anyone who has been exposed to measles and develops symptoms should notify their healthcare provider before seeking care to avoid potentially exposing others.