(Washington, DC) – As part of #DontWaitVaccinate, today Mayor Muriel Bowser reminded District parents to have their children receive immunizations before school starts, stressing the importance of protecting children and teens attending schools from contracting and spreading measles and other preventable diseases.
“Protecting our children from measles and other serious diseases has to be a community-wide effort, and with school just around the corner there’s no better time than right now to have your children vaccinated,” said Mayor Bowser. “Vaccines are safe and effective, and vaccinations are available through providers in all eight wards.”
According to the latest preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1,182 individual cases of measles have been confirmed in 30 states from January 1, 2019 to August 8, 2019. While there have been no reported cases in the District, cases have been reported in Northern Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, states with high numbers of commuters to and from the District.
To prevent measles and other preventable diseases from spreading in a community, 95% of the population should be vaccinated. This protects all residents, especially those residents who are unable to safely receive the vaccine themselves such as newborns or people who are immunocompromised.
“The District is committed to ensuring safe environments for all residents to learn and work,” said Deputy Mayor for Education Paul Kihn. “We are urging parents to ensure their children and teens are up-to-date on the measles vaccine as well as communicating with schools regarding compliance with immunization requirements. We are working to provide every opportunity for families to not only be in compliance for this upcoming school-year, but remain up-to-date each school year.”
A list of community health centers, federally qualified health centers, and school-based health centers in the District where families can receive immunizations can be found here.