Indianapolis Public Schools pushing for students to get their measles vaccinations INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — As more than 300 measles cases are reported nationwide, Indianapolis Public Schools is taking a proactive approach to prevent outbreaks. Even though Indiana has no cases of measles today , IPS has encouraged parents to get students vaccinated before the weeklong Spring Break, which starts March 24, because families travel and so do diseases. Megan Carlson, director of health services for IPS, said, “That’s what has me the most concerned, the out–of-state travel, because the thing with measles is you don’t know if you’ve been infected for 12-14 days after contracting measles.” Carlson says, within those days of travel, a person could unknowingly infect other people. She adds that children under a year old, who cannot get the vaccine yet, pregnant women, and the immunocompromise are the most vulnerable. “Measles are extremely contagious. It is dangerous. It is completely preventable. The vaccine is the No. 1 way to prevent getting measles, and I would encourage everybody to make sure they’re fully vaccinated.” According to IPS data, 1,132 students in the district do not have a measles vaccination on file, and 256 of those students have a medical or religious exemption. Carlson says if an unvaccinated student is exposed, they’ll have to stay home for 21 days. “For our students, that could mean 21 days out of school, so the same thing with COVID. COVID was only 10 days. This is 21 days. We remember what happened to COVID? This would be even more detrimental.” Measles was considered to have been eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, due to high vaccination rates with the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. But, Carlson says, vaccination rates dipped since the COVID-19 pandemic. Carlson recommends children older than 12 months be vaccinated, and anyone who was immunized before 1968 to check to see if they need a booster. Carlson says herd immunity is 95% coverage. “We have 95% at our district. We still have some school data that are lower, but we don’t have any schools below 88%.” The Indiana Department of Health shows an 84.6% measles coverage in the state. The Indiana Immunization Coalition is offering free measles vaccine clinics throughout the month of March. ...read more read less