Martha’s Vineyard Hospital vaccinated a total of 125 children and adults over the course of two free measles immunization clinics on Wednesday and Thursday last week.
The clinics were organized following confirmation Friday, June 19, that an unvaccinated child who arrived from another state was infected with measles. That diagnosis set off a full-scale effort by state and local health officials to prevent the spread of the highly contagious disease.
Martha’s Vineyard is particularly at risk, given the high number of unvaccinated children when compared with the rest of the state.
Tim Walsh, hospital chief executive officer, told The Times in a telephone conversation Wednesday that it was good the hospital vaccinated 125 people, but that he had hoped for more participation.
The hospital vaccinated 52 children under the age of 10, and seven children between the ages of 10 and 18, and the rest were adults. Mr. Walsh said there was no way to know whether the children were individuals who might have been normally scheduled to be vaccinated whose parents took advantage of the free clinic.
Mr. Walsh said the measles scare and the response provided a good test of readiness, weaknesses, and strengths. He said the hospital will review the response with the staff and with the state Department of Public Health (DPH) to better prepare for any future health emergency.
Mr. Walsh gave high marks to the hospital physicians and staff for organizing so quickly and preparing to react. “The medical staff was terrific,” he said.
Massachusetts law requires vaccinations against 14 communicable diseases as a condition of enrollment in public schools. In addition to medical exemptions, Massachusetts allows exemptions on religious grounds.
Statewide, 95 percent of kindergarteners are reported as having received two doses of MMR vaccine, while on Martha’s Vineyard (Dukes County), 84 percent of kindergarteners are reported as having received 2 doses of MMR vaccine, according to DPH.
In the wake of last year’s measles outbreak, on Wednesday, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a new law that will not allow parents to cite personal beliefs to reject vaccinations for children enrolled in public and private schools and day care centers.