A measles outbreak has been reported in Martha’s Vineyard, an area with especially high unvaccinated rates compared to the rest of Massachusetts.
The outbreak has happened just weeks before President Obama and his family are expected to travel to the island again for their summer break.
RELATED: Obamas likely headed to the Vineyard again this summer
A child traveling from another state was treated for measles at the Martha’s Vineyard emergency room Wednesday night, according to the Martha’s Vineyard Times. It’s likely that other people on the island were exposed to the virus even though the child was immediately isolated, officials said.
The case is of particular concern in Martha’s Vineyard, a highly-affluent area where parents are more likely to seek vaccine exemptions for their children. Exemption rates are six times higher there than in the state overall, reaching as high as 33 percent in some schools on the island.
The U.S. experienced a large measles outbreak earlier this year, resulting in 159 cases that were mostly in California, but included about a dozen other states as well. Officials have mostly blamed higher rates of unvaccinated children, as parents — often wealthy, educated ones — forego the recommended shots for their kids.
