HONOLULU (KHON2) — The number of people requesting the measles vaccine has nearly doubled since the health department alerted the public of the first confirmed measles case in Hawaii last week. One pediatrician said even those against vaccines are coming around.
“We’re getting calls every day so people are aware and people are inquiring,” Dr. Theresa Wee explained.
She said it’s a good sign that people are taking action to protect themselves and their children.
“Parents are concerned, and some parents who have been hesitant about vaccines are now understanding that that perhaps maybe now is the time to get on the bandwagon,” Wee said. “So we are seeing parents coming around.”
According Dr. Nathan Tan, a State Department of Health Deputy epidemiologist, since the two cases of measles were confirmed in Honolulu on April 8th, the number of children getting the MMR vaccine has nearly doubled.
“We do get reports for the vaccine for children program and other health care providers that are currently providing data to the registry,” he said.
But Tan said they aren’t getting all the reports of MMR in the state, so there’s no way to provide concrete vaccination numbers.
“But we are seeing an increasing trend for vaccination,” Tan explained.
And that’s a good thing.
If you’re not sure if you’ve gotten the MMR, Tan said you should call your doctor. They can run a test to find out if you’re protected.
“I think this is a good chance for people to to verify what their status is in terms of their immunity to measles,” he explained.
Wee said being proactive is the best defense.
“Especially if you’re thinking that maybe once school is out in May, you are going traveling, you want to go ahead and get that measles, mumps, rubella vaccine two weeks prior to your departure, because it does take about two weeks for the vaccine to take,” she explained.