Measles outbreak has expanded from Buckingham County into Cumberland County

The Virginia Department of Health said Thursday that the measles outbreak in Buckingham County has expanded into neighboring Cumberland County.

A look at the MMR vaccine dashboard is your first clue as to maybe why: the percentage of 7-year-olds in Buckingham County that has completed the MMR series is at 79.5 percent, and in Cumberland County, it’s 78.6 percent.

Because measles is one of the most contagious diseases known, the standard community immunity threshold for the MMR vaccine is considered to be 95 percent.

For comparison, Augusta County, per the dashboard, is at 93.6 percent, Waynesboro is at 90.1 percent, Staunton is trailing the other two, but it’s still at 80.9 percent.

Harrisonburg and Nelson County are both 95 percent-plus; Albemarle County (93.8 percent) and Charlottesville (93.6 percent) are close to the immunity threshold.

Rockingham County is embarrassingly low: 71.6 percent.

Folks, get your kids vaccinated, and this isn’t an issue.

Back to the situation in Buckingham County and Cumberland County: VDH is advising residents and visitors to these counties to take additional steps to ensure they are protected against measles.

In addition to routine vaccination recommendations for children and adults, people who live in or visit Buckingham County, Cumberland County, or surrounding areas should talk with their healthcare provider about additional outbreak vaccination recommendations.