Chicago health officials announced Monday that residents of the Pilsen immigrant shelter will need to receive their second dose of the measles vaccine 28 days after their first dose.
The Chicago Department of Public Health said the new policy is needed as measles cases continue to rise among young children at the Halstead Street shelter. The second dose helps protect preschoolers until they have fully developed immunity to measles, and it also helps prevent them from infecting other children who have not received their second dose.
The city has reported 26 measles cases, 19 of which were in children under the age of five. Most of the cases were associated with the Pilsen migrant shelter.
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“The MMR vaccine is the best protection against the virus, but children, particularly those under the age of five, are at greatest risk of contracting measles after a single vaccination,” CDPH Director Olusimbo Ige said in a statement. said. “We are seeing some of these cases at our Halstead shelter and this is not surprising. We understand this is a challenge for families, but we are We want to do everything we can to protect young children from measles by ensuring vaccination.”
Health officials said the policy has been expanded to include children between the ages of 1 and 5.
Families in shelters with children between the ages of 1 and 5 will be asked to stay home until 21 days after their second vaccination, or 21 days after their last exposure if vaccination is not possible.
Health officials say the new policy will affect about 50 children at the shelter. All eligible children have already received at least one vaccination.
According to the CDC, early symptoms, such as high fever, cough, runny nose, and red or watery eyes, usually appear within one to two weeks after contracting the virus. The rash may appear 3 to 5 days after the initial symptoms begin.
The “highly contagious” virus is spread by coughing, sneezing, or contact with an infected person, and the virus can survive in the air for up to two hours after the infected person leaves the space, according to the CDC. That's what it means. People infected with the virus can spread the infection for up to four days before and after the rash appears, and 90% of people who are exposed to the virus without immunity will become infected.
A team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is assisting the city in its response to the outbreak.
