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California's vaccination rate was nearly seven times higher when the

June 20, 2018 by Lena Webb

California's vaccination rate was nearly seven times higher when the exemption ban was put in place, according to a 2013 report from the California Department of Health and Human Services. (credit: CDC/NIP/ Barbara Rice)

As the numbers continue to rise, it becomes increasingly clear that California is facing health care, not vaccine safety.

"We are not immune to it," says Michael R. Schulman, senior epidemiologist with the California Department of Health and Human Services, whose office conducted the investigation into the medical exemptions. "We are not immune to it."

Since the beginning of childhood, a number of factors have contributed to the decline in childhood health, including a decrease in the number of children with measles in school, the number of children with severe immunizations, measles infections, and the number and frequency of outbreaks.

In California, at least 1.8 million people have received measles, the most recent data available. That puts measles at an epidemic level of 1.6 million cases—the highest level seen since the outbreak began.

For years, California's children at risk of measles have been vaccinated against the worst outbreak of the disease, which began in January, 2013, and has claimed nearly 1,300 lives. That includes at least 11,000 children in school, and a total of 2,600 children in homes.

In the past three years, two California counties—San Bernardino, California and Santa Barbara, California—have seen major declines in measles cases, a rate that was even higher at the time of the exemption ban.

"The number of measles-related deaths across the state has dropped steadily," says Schulman. "We've seen dramatic declines in school attendance. That's because of the decline in measles vaccine coverage over the last 10 years, and the decline in measles-related deaths over the past several years."

This decline is not simply a result of the decline in coverage of measles vaccine, but also because of the decline in vaccine coverage for several medical conditions, from severe immunizations to the measles-like illness that is associated with measles to long-term complications.

"We've seen dramatic declines in measles vaccine coverage over the past few years," says Schulman.

A number of factors—including the fact that measles is a viral disease—have contributed to the decline in measles vaccination. (credit: CDC/NIP/ Barbara Rice)

For the last several years, the rate of measles infection has been on track to be the highest in California, with 1.