Who's Paying for the Measles Outbreaks in Your State?

As we continue to see more and more cases of measles in outbreaks that keep getting bigger, there are a few questions that should be on everyone’s mind.

After you ask yourself whether your family is vaccinated and protected, the next question on your mind should be just who is going to be paying for all of these measles outbreaks?

Who's Paying for the Measles Outbreaks in Your State?

After all, there are multiple ongoing, large measles outbreaks in the United States, including:

• Texas — 753 cases

• New Mexico — 95 cases

• Ohio — 35 cases

• Kansas — 83 cases

• North Dakota - 34 cases

• Montana - 25 cases

• Oklahoma — 17 cases

Outbreaks that have been ongoing for at least 5–6 months and have few signs that they are slowing down or come under control.

Outbreaks that have led to hundreds of ER visits, hospitalizations, and 3 deaths, including 2 young children.

Outbreaks that will be very expensive to control, as local and state health departments have to identify the source of the measles infection, do contact investigations, provide post-exposure prophylaxis, provide education, and host immunization clinics.

How expensive?

Studies have shown that the median cost per case in a measles outbreak is $32,805 and the median cost per contact is $223.

And some recent large measles outbreaks cost millions of dollars to contain, including:

• the 2018-19 measles outbreak in Brooklyn, which had more than 500 staff dedicated to the response and cost over $8 million to contain

• the 2019 measles outbreak in Clark County, Washington, which cost at least $3.4 million to control

• the 2017 outbreak in Minnesota, which cost over $2.3 million to contain

And this doesn’t even include the direct medical charges to care for sick ($14,000 to $16,000) and exposed people, direct and indirect costs for quarantined families (up to $775 per child), and outbreak–response costs to schools and hospitals, etc.

Nor does it include what happens when our state and local health departments have to divert so much time and resources to deal with these types of vaccine-preventable diseases instead of other public health matters in the community.

Who's Paying for the Texas Measles Outbreak?

Now that you understand how much it costs to contain a measles outbreak, are you ready to ask who’s paying?

Gov. Greg Abbott could help end the outbreaks with a strong public statement encouraging folks to get vaccinated and protected. A vaccine that is much more cost-effective than paying for an outbreak!

In Texas, it is likely to cost $10 to $20 million to contain the outbreak, if it ends soon.

Most of these other outbreaks will cost $1 million or more to contain. Much more if they don’t end soon.

So, who’s paying to contain these outbreaks?

And why aren’t we encouraging more folks to get their MMR vaccines, one of the most cost-effective public health interventions developed? After all, it costs far less to prevent a case of measles with a vaccine than it does to treat someone once they get sick and stop a measles outbreak. Not to mention all the suffering that is avoided and lives that are saved.

It’s time to ask your representatives in office!

We know what contributed to them! Misinformation and propaganda from anti-vaccine influencers who make money scaring parent so that they don’t vaccinate and protect their kids.

References

Pike J, Melnick A, Gastañaduy PA, Kay M, Harbison J, Leidner AJ, Rice S, Asato K, Schwartz L, DeBolt C. Societal Costs of a Measles Outbreak. Pediatrics. 2021 Apr;147(4):e2020027037. doi: 10.1542/peds.2020-027037. Epub 2021 Mar 12. PMID: 33712549; PMCID: PMC9004490.

Zucker JR, Rosen JB, Iwamoto M, Arciuolo RJ, Langdon-Embry M, Vora NM, Rakeman JL, Isaac BM, Jean A, Asfaw M, Hawkins SC, Merrill TG, Kennelly MO, Maldin Morgenthau B, Daskalakis DC, Barbot O. Consequences of Undervaccination - Measles Outbreak, New York City, 2018-2019. N Engl J Med. 2020 Mar 12;382(11):1009-1017. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1912514. PMID: 32160662.

Sundaram ME, Guterman LB, Omer SB. The True Cost of Measles Outbreaks During the Postelimination Era. JAMA. 2019 Mar 26;321(12):1155-1156. doi: 10.1001/jama.2019.1506. Erratum in: JAMA. 2019 Jul 16;322(3):276. doi: 10.1001/jama.2019.8749. PMID: 30844023; PMCID: PMC7249451.