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Measles cases continue to rise across the Commonwealth and county. On Monday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) today announced that 1,286 measles cases have been confirmed across 42 counties in Pennsylvania. Thirteen cases are in Warren County.
Throughout Pennsylvania's measles outbreak, DOH has worked closely with the professional staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In addition to regular biweekly meetings, DOH consults CDC specialists as needs arise. Most recently, that meant securing federal guidance on school busing protocols and pregnancy-related information for health care providers.
To further strengthen and complement its response, DOH submitted a formal Epi-Aid request to the CDC on Oct. 7. On Monday, one CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Officer joined DOH on site to support measles response efforts. The EIS Officer will collaborate with DOH on advanced epidemiological modeling, including:
This federal technical assistance will further enhance the critical work of the approximately 300 DOH personnel - including 60 of our own “disease detectives” - who have been working around the clock to respond to the measles outbreak by partnering directly with local communities, disseminating evidence-based guidance, and delivering vaccinations to tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians.
Approximately 300 staff are proactively working with residents, community organizations, and health care providers to combat the measles outbreak in the Commonwealth through access to fact-based information and access to the MMR vaccine.
State health center staff have administered nearly 6,200 MMR vaccinations at 212 pop-up vaccination clinics in the affected communities since the outbreak began in late April. Dozens of additional vaccine clinics are scheduled for the upcoming weeks and months, based on community interest and need. In pop-up clinics and at state health centers combined, DOH nurses have administered more than 9,700 MMR vaccine doses to residents across the Commonwealth.
Statewide, health care providers have also seen a surge of interest from residents seeking MMR vaccinations. In a typical month, Pennsylvania health care providers administer approximately 25,000 doses of the MMR vaccine. In September, more than 56,000 doses were administered. So far in the first two weeks of October, more than 23,000 MMR vaccines have been administered.