The Department of Health Services is urging parents to complete their children’s vaccination schedules.
Dr. Stephanie Schauer says this is especially urgent as measles cases continue their spread in Wisconsin.
“About 85.1% of Wisconsin kindergartners were up to date on their MMR vaccination during the 25-26 school year. This increased slightly from 84.8% in the 24-25 school year, but it still leaves too many children without protection.”
That is backed by an increase with the number of parents who have also received a non-religious waiver for their students from 6.3% to 7.3%. Schauer says children spend all day mingling with each other in school, which gives a highly contagious illness like the measles a chance to easily spread.
“When a highly contagious disease like measles reaches a community with lower vaccination coverage, it has more opportunities to spread. And so Wisconsin’s current measles outbreak really is a real reminder of why maintaining high vaccination coverage matters.”
Schauer says the community needs about a 95 percent vaccination rate to prevent the spread of the measles to vulnerable populations who can’t get vaccinated. Parents should consult their pediatricians on getting the MMR vaccine, and can also find low cost or free vaccinations by checking with DHS online.