With the start of school approaching, health officials are asking parents to make sure their kids’ vaccinations are up-to-date.
There's plenty of catching up to do.
The California Department of Public Health website ShotsforSchool.org reveals numerous San Diego elementary schools have measles vaccination rates that are below 80 percent. One private school in La Jolla has a rate under 50 percent.
Health officials said at least 92 percent of the community need to be vaccinated against measles to reach the lower threshold for herd immunity.
A measles outbreak that began last December at Disneyland infected 147 people in three countries. Many of those sickened were not immunized.
That outbreak prompted a new state law that eliminates personal or religious exemptions to vaccinations for schoolchildren. The law takes effect in 2016.
Measles is a highly contagious, potentially dangerous infection. According to the United Nations, a current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed 315 people and infected more than 20,000.
Doctors said mortality rates tend to be higher in poorer countries.
The World Health Organization warns that progress toward eliminating measles worldwide has stalled due to low vaccination rates.
