Erie County’s childhood immunization rates have declined since before the COVID-19 pandemic, potentially exposing children to disease like the recent measles outbreak in Philadelphia.
Pennsylvania Department of Health data shows that the county’s immunization rates have fallen 1-3 percentage points from 2018-19 to 2022-23 for nearly every childhood vaccine. Rates for the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine have dropped near or below 95% — the threshold for herd immunity against measles, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.
“The fact is that the more people out there who don’t get vaccinated, the more we can get these diseases that once were eliminated,” said Dr. Nadia Asif, a Saint Vincent Hospital pediatrician.
No measles cases have been reported in Erie County for at least 33 years, but doctors and health officials are concerned the lower immunization rates could result in a local outbreak. Twenty-three measles cases have been reported in the United States since Dec. 1.
Erie County Department of Health officials were not available for this story, but they did say in an earlier interview that the department is putting together a team to handle any future outbreaks.