The number of Iowa kindergartners who have received the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine has dropped in recent years.
According to the latest data from the health policy organization KFF, 93% of Iowa kindergarteners got the M-M-R shot during the 2019-2020 school year — and that dropped to 89% for the Iowa children who entered kindergarten in the fall of 2022.
Dr. Nathan Boonstra, pediatrician at Blank Children’s hospital in Des Moines, says someone who has measles is highly contagious. “Even if you’re not necessarily in the same vicinity, like right next to them, you can catch it while you’re in the room with them,” he says, “or even after they’ve left the room, you walk in and breathe in — it can stay airborne for a while.”
Measles can lead to other health issues, like pneumonia. “It can cause encephalitis, which is brain swelling. It can cause different infections that actually negatively impacts your immune system for years afterwards,” Dr. Boonstra says. “It makes you more susceptible to other things.”
The Centers for Disease Control recommends the first MMR shot for children who are between 12 and 15 months old and the second shot between the ages of four and six. There have been 284 cases of measles reported in the U.S. this year, but none in Iowa. There have been cases of measles in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri and South Dakota this year.
(By Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio)