More NJ Kids Are Unvaccinated Than 10 Years Ago: County Breakdown
NEW JERSEY — Fewer New Jersey children are getting vaccinated as measles cases continue to rise both in the Garden State and nationwide, according to state health data.Last week, the New Jersey Department of Health issued an alert after three people in Bergen County were confirmed to have the highly contagious virus. The first case was confirmed on Feb. 14 after the person visited a Bergen County emergency room following recent international travel. A week later, two more people were confirmed to have the virus, according to the state — both of whom were unvaccinated and were in contact with the first person.In the past two months, officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been notified of 164 measles cases reported in states. According to the data, 146 cases were in Texas alone. The measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is safe and highly effective at preventing infection and severe cases. The first shot is recommended for children ages 12 to 15 months, and the second for ages 4 to 6 years. Most kids will recover from measles, but infection can lead to dangerous complications such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.Vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the COVID-19 pandemic, and most states are below the 95 percent vaccination threshold for kindergartners — the level needed to protect communities against measles outbreaks.Over the last 10 years, the number of New Jersey children who have not received the measles vaccine on religious grounds has more than doubled, according to a state immunization reports for 2023-24 and 2013-14.In the 2013-14 school year, 1.7 percent of more than 500,000 pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, first grade, sixth grade, and transfer students received religious exemptions from mandatory immunization, compared to 4.5 percent in 2023-24.Atlantic, Cape May, Monmouth, Ocean and Sussex counties currently have the highest number of unvaccinated children due to religious exemptions.Here's a look at the percentage of unvaccinated children by county:Atlantic2013-14: 1.7%2023-24: 6.2%Bergen2013-14: 2.1%2023-24: 3.9%Burlington2013-14: 1.4%2023-24: 4%Camden2013-14: 1.2%2023-24: 2.8%Cape May 2013-14:%2023-24:%Cumberland2013-14: 2%2023-24: 7.7%Essex2013-14: 1.4%2023-24: 2.7%Gloucester2013-14: 1.3%2023-24: 4.2%Hudson2013-14: 0.7%2023-24: 2.5%Hunterdon2013-14: 4.8%2023-24: 6.1%Mercer2013-14: 1%2023-24: 2.2%Middlesex2013-14: 1.3%2023-24: 3.1%Monmouth2013-14: 3.5%2023-24: 7.5%Morris2013-14: 2.3%2023-24: 4.2%Ocean2013-14: 2.2%2023-24: 8.1%Passaic2013-14: 1.2%2023-24: 3.6%Salem2013-14: 1%2023-24: 3.9%Somerset2013-14: 2%2023-24: 3.3%Sussex2013-14: 3.3%2023-24: 6.7%Union2013-14: 0.9%2023-24: 2.4%Warren2013-14: 2.6%2023-24: 5.5%If contracted, measles can cause respiratory and neurological problems, pneumonia, vomiting, and other symptoms.Measles symptoms include a high fever, cough, runny nose, watery red eyes, and a rash that usually appears between three and five days after symptoms begin, the state of New Jersey said.The rash usually begins as flat red spots that appear on the face at the hairline and spread downward to the neck, torso, arms, legs, and feet. Measles can also cause serious complications, such as pneumonia and encephalitis (swelling of the brain), and can lead to miscarriage in pregnant people, premature birth, or a low-birth-weight baby.The article More NJ Kids Are Unvaccinated Than 10 Years Ago: County Breakdown appeared first on Across New Jersey, NJ Patch.
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