Editorial: Get vaccinated, or else

The recent deaths of at least three dozen young children due to a measles outbreak in Samoa is a clarion call about the need to be immunized — and it’s a call that parents here should continue to heed.

Measles, spread by a highly contagious airborne virus, is especially dangerous to young children and those with weakened immune systems. Communities that haven’t experienced any problems for years — thanks largely to high vaccination rates — tend to forget the severity of the disease among the vulnerable. The recent deaths in Samoa are a tragic reminder.

Being called a “huge outbreak” in that Pacific nation, the alarm rightly has Hawaii health officials urging non-immunized people to get vaccinated. While Hawaii’s overall vaccination rates are high — in the mid-90% level — it’s noted that rural pockets here are going without. Luckily this year, Hawaii has had just one confirmed case of measles, and that was a Hawaii resident who contracted measles while traveling in another state.

But it’s imperative to remain vigilant with vaccinations. Again turning to Samoa, it’s noted that measles immunization rates among Samoan infants was over 70% in 2013, but has dramatically fallen to below 30% last year.

On Friday, the measles death toll there was at least 42, 38 of them children under 4. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control is dispatching experts to help — let’s hope they can, and quickly.