In a post-COVID world, our relationship with vaccination is much different to how it was pre-pandemic. Unlike the very recent COVID-19 pandemic, measles is a disease humanity has struggled with for centuries. As such, when a vaccination was made available, it proved very effective in combatting rates of measles outbreaks. Even to the extent that by the year 2000, the World Health Organization was able to declare measles eliminated in the United States.
Unfortunately, this status has been called into question during the past few years. Measles outbreaks are popping up across the U.S., and it’s easy to see why- the vaccination rates for measles continue to fall. There are numerous possible causes for this, but the end result is the same. If nothing changes, measles cases will continue to increase.
However, Walla Walla County has been doing its due diligence! According to the USA Today Vaccination Tracker that can be found here, Walla Walla County is close to the 95% vaccination rate that experts say will dramatically lower measles outbreaks.
To learn more about health in Walla Walla County, visit the Walla Walla Trends site here.