Health Officials Urge Utahns Get Measles Vaccinations

(Salt Lake City, UT) — Utah health officials are warning people to get vaccinated for measles. The Utah Department of Health and Human Services, along with the Utah Association of Local Health Departments, issued a statement Monday noting that the MMR vaccine is 97 percent effective with two doses. There is a measles outbreak underway in 17 states and Utah wants to stay out of that list. The disease is a respiratory illness caused by a virus. That virus is so potentially contagious it will infect about 90 percent of people who have contact with an infected person. Officials say that 97 cases have recently been reported, with most in Arizona, California and in multiple East Coast and Midwestern states. There were only 58 measles cases in the United States in 2023.