(FOX 9) – Minnesota and Wisconsin lag behind nearly every state in the U.S. when it comes to measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccinations for kindergarteners, a new report finds. Ta.
What you need to know
According to the CDC report, only Idaho and Alaska have worse MMR vaccination rates among kindergartners than Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Currently, only 87.0% of 66,032 kindergartners surveyed in Minnesota have received both doses of MMR, while only 84.8% of kindergarteners in Wisconsin (62,028 surveyed) have received both doses of MMR. It was.
Alaska’s death rate is slightly worse than Wisconsin’s 84.3%, and Idaho’s death rate is the lowest in the nation at 79.6%.
context
This year, Minnesota is dealing with an outbreak of measles. Most cases have been reported in Hennepin County, with a particularly high rate of infection among Somali Americans. What’s even more concerning is that most cases are not travel-related, but rather locally acquired.
Due to the outbreak, Minnesota has changed its guidelines for parents, and health officials are urging parents to get their children’s second vaccine shots sooner.
what do they say?
In a news release, Wisconsin health officials responded to the CDC data.
“While most Wisconsinites protect their children with vaccines, we are falling short of what is needed to protect our state from preventable outbreaks,” said Paula, State Health Officer and Public Health Administrator.・Tran said in a provided statement. “Vaccines have proven to be one of the safest and most effective ways each of us can prevent serious illness and death from disease. The vast majority of people are fully vaccinated. It is much harder for the disease to spread in the home, classroom, or community at large. ”
complete ranking
Below are the complete rankings by state. Data from the CDC includes the territory and two cities: Houston, Texas, and New York City.