{"id":135405,"date":"2024-09-24T19:45:15","date_gmt":"2024-09-24T23:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=135405"},"modified":"2024-09-25T11:06:07","modified_gmt":"2024-09-25T15:06:07","slug":"think-cutting-costs-not-care-the-financial-benefits-of-medical-pharmacy-integration-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=135405","title":{"rendered":"Understanding the Resurgence of Measles and Whooping Cough: What You Need to Know in 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Capital Blue Cross \u2013  THINK<\/a><\/em> (Trusted Health Information, News, and Knowledge) is a community publication of Capital Blue Cross. Our mission is to provide education, resources, and news on the latest health and insurance issues.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cases of measles and whooping cough are four times higher in 2024. Here are four things everyone should know about this sudden surge. <\/em><\/p>\n

Dr. Michael Colli said difficult conversations about childhood vaccines are becoming easier. With cases of measles and whooping cough rising nationwide, he has more parents\u2019 attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the numbers are low, those conversations are harder because you\u2019re trying to protect against this mystery virus,\u201d said Dr. Colli, a pediatrician from Keystone Health in Chambersburg, Pa. \u201cOnce (the numbers) start to go up, it becomes easier.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through Sept. 9, measles cases are four times higher<\/a> in 2024 than all of 2023 (247 compared to 58), according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).<\/p>\n

The U.S. has experienced a similar uptick with whooping cough<\/a>, with cases also four times higher in 2024.<\/p>\n

Here are four things everyone should know about this sudden surge:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Measles and whooping cough can cause serious health problems.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Both measles and whooping cough (also known as pertussis) can cause serious and lasting health effects<\/a>, especially with children.<\/p>\n

    \u201cMeasles is not just a rash,\u201d said Dr. Jeremy Wigginton, Chief Medical Officer at Capital Blue Cross. \u201cIt can have very serious complications, including ear infections that lead to permanent hearing loss, pneumonia, and encephalitis (swelling of the brain).\u201d<\/p>\n

    Whooping cough triggers severe coughing episodes that make it difficult to breathe and could also lead to pneumonia, said Dr. Colli. Infants are at greatest risk<\/a> because their immune systems are still developing.<\/p>\n

    \u201cThe younger you are when you get it, the more devastating it can be,\u201d Dr. Colli said.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Measles is extremely contagious<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      When more people develop immunity to a virus \u2013 usually through vaccines \u2013 it becomes more difficult to spread.<\/p>\n

      But achieving herd immunity is different for every virus<\/a> and depends on how contagious it is. Measles, for example, spreads so easily that an estimated 95 percent of the population needs to be vaccinated to reach herd immunity.<\/p>\n

      \u201cMeasles is one of the most contagious viruses,\u201d Dr. Colli said, adding that only two doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine can provide lifelong protection for most people.<\/p>\n

      In most states, children are required to get the MMR vaccine before entering kindergarten. But kindergarten classes in 37 states have vaccination rates below the 95 percent needed for herd immunity, according to the most recent CDC data available.<\/p>\n

      One of those states is Pennsylvania, which had vaccinated 95 percent of its incoming kindergarteners from 2017-2022 until dropping below that mark for the 2022-2023 school year.<\/p>\n

      Of the 2024 measles cases through mid-September, the CDC said more than two-thirds involve people under the age of 19, and 87 percent were unvaccinated<\/a>.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Whooping cough vaccine is NOT one and done.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        While two doses of the MMR vaccine offer most people lifelong protection against measles, the pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine wanes over time, said Dr. Colli.<\/p>\n

        The CDC recommends<\/a> everyone receive five doses of the pertussis vaccine between 2 months and 6 years of age, with a final dose at age 11 or 12. Women who are pregnant also should receive it, according to the CDC.<\/p>\n

        Whooping cough poses the greatest threat to infants, but Dr. Colli said teens and adults should follow the CDC schedule to protect the younger members of their household and community.<\/p>\n

        \u201cThe best thing we can do to protect our infants is to make sure all the adults around them are vaccinated with a recent Tdap booster,\u201d Dr. Colli said. \u201cI recommend that if a person has never had a Tdap (tetanus\/diphtheria\/pertussis) booster, they get it at least once.\u201d<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Outbreaks impact entire communities.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Outbreaks do more than spread illness \u2013 they inflict painful consequences that can ripple through entire communities. For example, a study from the journal Pediatrics<\/em> estimated that a 2021 measles outbreak in Washington state cost $1 million<\/a> in lost workforce production.<\/p>\n

          In 2016, Dr. Colli helped address a whooping cough outbreak in Chambersburg<\/a> that started in a local school. At the time, he said it was a \u201ccall to action\u201d for parents to become more informed about the importance of childhood vaccinations.<\/p>\n

          With similar outbreaks occurring in 2024, including at a school in Montgomery County (Pa.), <\/a> doctors are again calling to ramp up vaccinations efforts.<\/p>\n

          \u201cThe real risk lies in not getting vaccinated,\u201d Dr. Wigginton said. \u201cIt leaves yourself, your family, and others in your community vulnerable to these highly contagious and potentially life-threatening illnesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

          Vaccine Insurance Coverage<\/strong><\/p>\n

          Because they are a preventive measure, the MMR and pertussis vaccines are covered by most health plans offered by Capital Blue Cross if you meet criteria set by the CDC, said Michael Ballow, a clinical pharmacist at Capital Blue Cross.<\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          You can find more useful articles at https:\/\/thinkcapitalbluecross.com\/<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

          Information provided to TVL by:
          \nJERRY REIMENSCHNEIDER
          \nSenior Public Relations Specialist | Brand & Market Strategy
          \n          https:\/\/www.capbluecross.com\/<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          By Capital Blue Cross \u2013  THINK (Trusted Health Information, News, and Knowledge) is a community publication of Capital Blue Cross. Our mission is to provide education, resources, and news on the … Continue reading Understanding the Resurgence of Measles and Whooping Cough: What You Need to Know in 2024<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":112469,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69,482,5742],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-135405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2","category-think"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/think.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135405"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=135405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135405\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/112469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=135405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=135405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=135405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}