KNOX COUNTY, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — A local health department in the Wabash Valley is responding to the recent measles outbreak in the United States.
The Knox County Health Department will be hosting a measles vaccine clinic. It will take place Saturday, March 22, from 9 p.m. to Noon.
No appointment is necessary, and the health department said there will be no out of pocket cost to get the vaccine.
Doctors recommend that children get their first dose of the vaccine at one year old and a second one between ages four and six. Doctors also said it is a 97% effective at preventing the virus.
Measles symptoms include flu-like signs and a rash that typically appears three to five days after the initial symptoms. The virus is highly contagious and can lead to serious complications.
“If we have a large number of people vaccinated, we will achieve what we call herd immunity however, we all heard about herd immunity during the pandemic and in order to achieve herd immunity with measles vaccine with measles you would have to have 95% of your population vaccinated,” said Alan Stewart, M.d., Knox County Health Officer.
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