US Records Over 1,000 Measles Cases in 2019 - Health Agency

00:38 GMT, 6 June 2019

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the number of measles cases in the United States surpassed 1,000 in 2019 and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has began urging citizens to vaccinate in order to suppress the worst measles outbreak in more than 25 years.

Sputnik

“The 1,000th case of a preventable disease like measles is a troubling reminder of how important that work is to the public health of the nation", HHS Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement on Wednesday. “We cannot say this enough: Vaccines are a safe and highly effective public health tool that can prevent this disease and end the current outbreak".

In response to the outbreak, CDC has developed a toolkit with resources to increase public awareness and address safety concerns associated with the vaccines, stemming from misinformation.

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CDC Director Robert Redfield urged all citizens who can get vaccinated to do so last month, saying the dangers of measles are greater than the perceived risks associated with the vaccine.

The CDC has deployed an immunization program project officer to Albany, New York, the region where the majority of cases in the current outbreak originated.

The measles outbreak in New York State has seen a steady increase for the past seven months, according to the CDC.

The agency projects that if the current trend continues through the fall, the United States may lose the measles elimination status it received in 2000.