College Campuses May Facilitate Spread of Infectious Disease
At nearby Temple University, over 100 cases of mumps have been confirmed as an outbreak hit the university hard after just a few documented cases in February 2019. City Department of Health officials believe that the close quarters in which college students live has accelerated the spread of the disease, and they expect more cases to be diagnosed.
“The number of measles cases in the US jumped to the second-highest level in 25 years.”
Although mumps and other highly contagious viral diseases such as measles have largely been eradicated in the United States, there have been sporadic outbreaks in pockets of the country that have been largely attributed to so-called anti-vaxxers, or parents who refuse to vaccinate their children. College students are generally susceptible to outbreaks of all kinds of contagious diseases, including certain strains of meningitis and the flu.
Temple Revises University Policies on Vaccinations
In response to the outbreak, Temple has since revised the university's policies and will request verification that students received the MMR vaccination beginning next academic year. Since the CDC recommends a third booster shot only for people who live in the area of an outbreak, Temple university held a free vaccination clinic, administering booster shots for mumps to nearly 5,000 students and staffers as of last week. Other students and professors were vaccinated at the campus health center, which is still offering shots.
CDC Recommendations for MMR Vaccinations
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends two doses of the MMR vaccine (which stands for measles, mumps and rubella and protects against all three) during childhood. The first shot is generally given when a child is between a year and 15 months old and a second booster shot is given between ages 4 and 6, normally about the time when most children begin attending school. Mumps is well-known for the characteristic severe swelling it causes in the cheeks and neck, but other symptoms range from a fever and headache to aches and loss of appetite. In some cases, deafness can occur, and more dangerous complications can happen after puberty, including inflammation of the testicles or ovaries.
A person who has received a single dose of the MMR vaccine has about a 78% chance of not contracting mumps and an 88% chance of prevention with the second dose, according to the CDC.
Anti-Vaccination Movement May Be to Blame for Resurgence of Certain Diseases
Across the United States, it’s not just the mumps that have seen outbreaks. The number of measles cases in the US jumped to the second-highest level in 25 years. More than 110,000 cases worldwide were reported over the first three months of this year, the World Health Organization said. These stats are alarming since measles was considered eliminated in the US in 2000, but the number of cases has surged in recent years. Experts blame the rise of the anti-vaccination movement, where parents and adults are refusing vaccines by claiming that they are unnecessary.
PA & NJ Vaccine Injury Attorney
At Green & Schafle LLC, we recommend that everyone in our Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware communities follow the advice of their treating physicians and vaccinate against deadly and contagious diseases whenever possible. While injuries from vaccines can occur, they are rare and are outweighed by the benefits of vaccines.
We have skilled vaccine lawyers, licensed in the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program and the United States Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C. who are ready to represent the interests of those in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and nationwide.
Our licensed vaccine attorneys have been representing vaccine-injured clients nationwide for the last decade and they are actively involved in the Vaccine Injured Petitioners Bar Association, the national organization dedicated to the representation of individuals with vaccine injuries.
If you or someone you know needs a vaccine lawyer, please contact the licensed vaccine lawyers at Green & Schafle.
