BRAZOS COUNTY, Texas — After being declared eliminated in 2000, according to the CDC, the number of measles cases in the U.S is continuing to rise.
In Bryan-College Station, local health professionals are looking to educate parents on the dangers of measles and prevent infections before it’s too late.
“Right now, we definitely are seeing some of the very scary diseases coming back around measles is in 18 states again and obviously we saw polio come back around last year and so there’s definitely an extreme need for people to get vaccinated,” Vaccine Coordinator, Caroline Greer, said.
The health district warns that local children are more vulnerable to contracting these deadly diseases compared to the rest of the state.
Greer explained, “We here in Brazos County have a 40% exemption rate, which means 40% of our kiddos are exempting out of getting vaccinated and that’s just a high rate compared to 13% statewide.”
Health professionals are seeing the impact of misinformation on parents who are refusing to vaccinate their children.
“As much as they are easily fed a lot of the misnomers the lies of things that our job now is to try to equally combat that with the truth,” said Greer.
Some parents believe that keeping their children at home will decrease their risk of contracting diseases, but the health district wants families to be aware of the reality that simply keeping their children at home isn't going to keep them fully safe.
Greer continued, “The reality is they’re gonna be around other kids that go to daycare, they’re going to go to parks, they’re going to go to HEB and touch surfaces, and in the end they’re just as at risk as everyone else.”