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As hot summer days fade into fall, it’s time to check that you and your family members’ immunizations are up to date. The Cascade County Health Department (CCHD) maintains immunization histories, can help you create a catch-up plan for vital shots, and gives immunizations for adults and kids in one location.
It’s crucial to be immunized against diseases like measles and polio. Measles was considered eliminated in the United States in 2000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), after several decades of immunizations being administered. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. In 2019, 1,274 cases of measles were confirmed across 31 states — the largest number reported in the country since 1992, according to the CDC. Most of those cases occurred in under-immunized communities.
The disease is not to be taken lightly: It causes a fever and rash, with complications including pneumonia, encephalitis, and death, according to the CDC.
Vaccinating everyone with the measles, mumps, and rubella shot, commonly called an MMR, is the most effective way to limit transmission of measles, according to the CDC.
“Before the introduction of measles vaccine in 1963 and widespread vaccination, major epidemics occurred approximately every two to three years and caused an estimated 2.6 million deaths each year,” according to the World Health Organization.
Polio is another devastating disease that has largely been eradicated, thanks to widespread immunizations since the 1950s. But occasional cases have popped up in unvaccinated people, such as a young adult in New York last year, according to CNBC. That person had not received an immunization and ended up paralyzed.
While widespread immunization has eliminated wild polio, the most common form of the virus, low immunization rates mean variants can spread.
“It takes only one traveler with polio to bring the disease into a country,” according to the CDC. “Communities with low polio immunization rates are at risk of polio spreading from infected travelers, or having outbreaks from poliovirus variants.”
Measles and polio, as well as a number of other formerly common diseases, are easy to prevent with widespread immunization.
Local immunizations
Montana immunization rates are not where they could be. The state is behind the national average for completion of the recommended seven-vaccine series by age 2, according to a recent review of Montana immunization data. Fewer than 2 in 5 Montana children receive all the recommended immunizations on-time before their 2nd birthday.
CCHD aims to improve local numbers in Cascade County. If you are uninsured or underinsured, two federal programs — Vaccines for Children and Vaccines for Adults — ensure you can get vaccinated for free or at a reduced cost, and CCHD administers those programs.
Whether you make an appointment or drop by a walk-in clinic, CCHD has easy options for immunization. An Aug. 9 back-to-school clinic will offer childhood immunizations and sports physicals, and adults can get flu shots and COVID-19 boosters at a walk-in or drive-through clinic beginning September 20.
Flu activity picks up in October, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), so getting a flu shot beforehand will provide protection for the whole season. But getting a flu shot too early can also reduce protection later in the flu season – CCHD’s immunization clinics are timed maximize protection throughout the entire flu season.
Visit the Cascade City-County Health Department online to learn more about immunizations that can keep you and your family healthy.
