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About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (March 4, 2019)
OPINION Page 6 n THE ASIAN REPORTER March 4, 2019 Volume 29 Number 5 March 4, 2019 ISSN: 1094-9453 The Asian Reporter is published on the first and third Monday each month. Please send all correspondence to: The Asian Reporter 922 N Killingsworth Street, Suite 2D, Portland, OR 97217 Phone: (503) 283-4440, Fax: (503) 283-4445 News Department e-mail: news@asianreporter.com Advertising Department e-mail: ads@asianreporter.com General e-mail: info@asianreporter.com Website: www.asianreporter.com Please send reader feedback, Asian-related press releases, and community interest ideas/stories to the addresses listed above. Please include a contact phone number. Advertising information available upon request. Publisher Jaime Lim Contributing Editors Ronault L.S. Catalani (Polo), Jeff Wenger Correspondents Ian Blazina, Josephine Bridges, Pamela Ellgen, Maileen Hamto, Edward J. Han, A.P. Kryza, Marie Lo, Simeon Mamaril, Julie Stegeman, Toni Tabora-Roberts, Allison Voigts Illustrator Jonathan Hill News Service Associated Press/Newsfinder Copyright 2019. Opinions expressed in this newspaper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of this publication. Member Associated Press/Newsfinder Asian American Journalists Association Better Business Bureau Pacific Northwest Minority Publishers (PNMP) Philippine American Chamber of Commerce of Oregon Measles outbreak sends vaccine demand soaring, even among the hesitant By JoNel Aleccia Kaiser Health News Correspondence: The Asian Reporter welcomes reader response and participation. 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Back issues of The Asian Reporter may be ordered by mail at the following rates: First copy: $1.50 Additional copies ordered at the same time: $1.00 each Send orders to: Asian Reporter Back Issues, 922 N. Killingsworth St., Portland, OR 97217-2220 he demand for the measles vaccine surged in the Washington county where the highly contagious virus is linked to 70 confirmed illnesses this year — including among people who had previously shunned the shots. Orders for two types of measles vaccines in Clark County were up nearly 500 percent in January compared to the same month last year, jumping from 530 doses to 3,150, according to state health department figures. Area health clinics scrambled to keep up with sudden demand, mostly among parents of children who had not been inoculated. “During an outbreak is when you see an influx of patients who would otherwise be vaccine-hesitant,” said Virginia Ramos, an infection control nurse with Sea Mar Community Health Center, which runs six sites that offer vaccines in Clark County. “We’re just happy that we’re prepared and that there is vaccine available.” The Vancouver Clinic, which operates medical offices and urgent care centers in the area, reported that shots administered jumped from 263 in January 2018 to 1,444 in January 2019, a nearly 450-percent increase. That’s a huge rise in a county where vaccination rates lag — only 76.5 percent of kindergartners had all the required immunizations for the 2017-2018 school year. Health officials have long worried about the potential for an outbreak in the region. Statewide in Washington, orders for the measles vaccine jumped about 30 percent in January compared with the same month last year, climbing from 12,140 doses to 15,780 doses, figures showed. The vaccines include MMR, which protects against measles, mumps, and rubella, and MMR-V, which also protects against the varicella-zoster virus, which causes chickenpox. The vaccine takes effect within 72 hours, health officials said. The orders represent only state-supplied vaccines requested through the federal Vaccines for Children program, which provides free immunizations to children who otherwise couldn’t afford them. But it’s a snapshot of the scare an outbreak can cause, said Dr. Alan Melnick, the Clark County health officer overseeing the response. “I would rather it not take an outbreak for this to happen,” he said. Since January 1, 70 cases of measles have been T Orders for two types of measles vaccines in Clark County were up nearly 500 percent in January compared to the same month last year, jumping from 530 doses to 3,150. confirmed in Clark County, officials said. The Pacific Northwest outbreak includes one confirmed case in King County, where Seattle is located, and five in Multnomah County, which includes Portland, Oregon. Officials had also sent letters to families of 5,000 children in Multnomah County telling them they would be excluded from school if they didn’t have up-to-date immunizations or valid exemptions by February 20, 2019. Most of the infections have occurred in children under age 18 who were unvaccinated. The Clark County outbreak includes 61 cases among those who were not immunized, seven cases where immunization has not been verified, and two cases where the person had only received a single dose of vaccine. One person was hospitalized. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends two doses of measles vaccine, one given at between 12 months and 15 months of age and one between ages four and six. Health officials say the shots are safe and effective, providing about 93-percent protection with one dose and 97 percent with two doses. The Pacific Northwest cases are among three ongoing measles outbreaks in the U.S. that sickened 79 people in January, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last year, 372 measles cases were confirmed nationwide, the most since an outbreak in 2014 sickened 667 people. Washington and Oregon are among 17 states that allow non-medical exemptions from vaccination requirements for school entry, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Washington state representative Paul Harris (R-Vancouver) has introduced a measure that would remove personal belief exemptions for the MMR vaccine. Research has confirmed that vaccines don’t cause autism, a common reason cited by parents who reject vaccinations. Others object to the timing and combinations of the vaccines and to being forced to inoculate their children. Kaiser Health News, a nonprofit health newsroom whose stories appear in news outlets nationwide, is an editorially independent part of the Kaiser Family Foundation. Opinions expressed in this newspaper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of this publication. The Asian Reporter welcomes reader response and participation. If you have a comment on a story we have printed, or have an Asian-related personal or community focus idea, please contact us. Please include a contact name, address, and phone number on all correspondence. Thank you. Go paperless! Read The Asian Reporter – exactly as it’s printed here – online! Visit <www.asianreporter.com> and click the “Online Paper (PDF)” link to view our last two issues.