The county, at the center of Pennsylvania’s measles outbreak, is at a distinct disadvantage because, according to local officials, it does not have its own health department and will now receive special assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
As of Wednesday, Pennsylvania had confirmed 1,222 cases of measles, up from 86 the previous week. Six deaths associated with measles have also been confirmed by the state.
The CDC announced Thursday that it would send a scientist — more specifically a “disease detective” — from the agency’s epidemic intelligence unit to help combat the growing outbreak in Pennsylvania.
“The CDC will continue to work closely with Pennsylvania health officials to provide the expertise and support needed to respond to the outbreak and protect public health,” a CDC spokesperson told NBC News on Thursday.
The spokesperson also added that CDC Director Dr. Erica Schwartz recommends the MMR vaccine “as the most effective way to prevent measles and protect against infection.”
The network also reported that in addition to the “disease detective” deployment, the CDC was releasing nearly $4 million to help measles response efforts in Pennsylvania.
Lancaster County, the center of the state’s outbreak with more than 415 confirmed cases as of Oct. 9, is the largest county in the state without its own health department. The Plains, or Amish, community, which has historically had lower vaccination rates, makes up about 8% of the county’s population.
The Guardian reported earlier this month that the state was bracing for a surge in measles cases, with some public health officials sharing concern that it was “only a matter of time” before the disease spread beyond the center of the outbreak.
The outbreak also comes amid concerns that public health in the United States is being hit by growing vaccine skepticism, particularly due to the influence of controversial Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy also had a public dispute with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who blasted the administration and Kennedy for spreading misinformation about vaccines.
“I have been very clear that his actions and this administration’s rhetoric are negatively impacting communities across America, particularly here in Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said in August during a press briefing to report two measles deaths in his state, the first in three decades.
He continued: “There are real consequences to spreading misinformation. There are real consequences to scaring people.”
Alice Yoder, who was elected to the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners in 2023 and previously worked as an intensive care nurse, told the Guardian that county officials were “very concerned” about the outbreak and that, without its own health department, the county was at a clear disadvantage.
“It’s a lot for our state to handle from a communications standpoint,” Yoder said. “They may be doing the best they can, knowing that Pennsylvania has 67 counties, 60 of which are under the auspices of the centralized state system rather than having their own health departments.”
She added: “By having a local health department, especially one of our size, I think it would mean that we would have local data, in real time, and we would have that information quickly. And more importantly, we would have an established staff, who have established relationships with a variety of partners within our community, meaning that once we find a sign of an outbreak, we would be able to respond to it very quickly.”
Yoder, who is now advocating for the county to establish its own health department, added that because the county does not have one, she and her colleagues only find out about measles cases and deaths through media announcements, along with the general public.
“I never thought I would see measles again in my lifetime, but once it happened, I thought we probably should have prepared for it,” she said.
An advantage for Pennsylvania counties that have their own health departments, like Montgomery, is their ability to work with local community health initiatives, such as coalitions aimed at promoting immunity.
Susan Wenrick, vice president of the Montgomery County Immunization Coalition, made up of members of county government, medical professionals and other community members, said one of the coalition’s main goals is to improve access to vaccines.
“The biggest challenges in vaccinating Montgomery County residents have been access and availability, but one of the positives of the pandemic has been the public-private partnerships that have been created to bring vaccines to communities, while addressing uninsured and underinsured barriers,” Wenrick said.
She added, “These are challenging times due to the amount of misinformation available, and the fact that the average person is turning to Google or social media for information about their health instead of consulting their healthcare professional. A big part of MCIC’s efforts is to provide reliable resources for everyone.”
The CDC reported 4,410 cases of measles nationwide on Friday, an increase of 330 from its update last week. As Reuters noted, the CDC “began using mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics for measles-related deaths, rather than ‘relying’ on state health departments, a change that has drawn scrutiny.”
Gn Health
