Hawaii residents urged to get immunized

State health officials are urging unvaccinated Hawaii residents to get immunized from measles, which is rapidly spreading across the Pacific.

The highly contagious airborne virus, especially dangerous to young children and those with already weakened immune systems, recently caused the deaths of more than two dozen people in Samoa and, earlier this year, more than 400 in the Philippines.

The Department of Health said it is monitoring measles outbreaks in multiple countries around the world, including in Western Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia and the Philippines, and “watching for any potential introduction to our state.”

While Hawaii’s overall vaccination rates are high — in the mid-90% level — there are pockets of rural communities where people are going without immunizations, said state Epidemiologist Sarah Park.

“Rural areas tend to be more at risk. They’re vulnerable to outbreaks. We have to be vigilant,” she said, adding that individuals at high risk of contracting measles include infants under 12 months old and people with preexisting conditions. “They may have once been vaccinated, but people on chemotherapy — kids and adults — these are people that are at risk for severe disease.”

Melanie Afualo, family alumni community engagement coordinator at Kahuku High and Intermediate School, has started a “Support Samoa” drive, along with student leaders and sports clubs, to collect donations including blankets, hand sanitizers, towels, wipes, vitamins and sports drinks to send to the island nation.

“The Kahuku community has deep Polynesian roots,” said Afualo of the 1,400 predominantly Polynesian students in grades 7 to 12. “Even an ocean away we’re all so connected, and so we have that sense of responsibility and sense of community.”

The school will be collecting donations until Dec. 7.

The Health Department said it is critical that people act now to get the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Even in areas with high immunization rates, there’s still a risk, Park said.

“It’s not just Samoa that we’re concerned about. It’s the fact that … multiple countries around the Pacific have been having and continue to have active measles activity and outbreaks, as well as other countries and even on mainland U.S.,” she said. “We do have quite a few people traveling back and forth. We’d like not to experience the outbreaks occurring elsewhere here in Hawaii.”

Most children receive the vaccination at around 12 to 15 months and then get a second dose between the ages of 4 and 6 years old. For those who have never been vaccinated, a second dose should be given four weeks after initial immunization. Residents born before 1957 are most likely naturally immunized and do not need to be vaccinated unless they are health care workers, the DOH said.

Measles symptoms, including high fever, cough, runny nose and watery eyes, typically appear seven to 14 days after contracting the disease, with a rash several days after onset.

“A lot of students didn’t even know what measles was. We had to look it up and talk about what it looks like and what the symptoms even were,” Afualo said. “It hasn’t been around for a long time. We haven’t seen an outbreak like this before.”