Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

DBoon

(25,046 posts)
Tue Apr 14, 2026, 11:20 AM 9 hrs ago

Measles takes a plane to Idaho, which has worst vaccination rate in US

https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/04/airport-measles-case-reported-in-idaho-state-with-lowest-vaccination-rate/

...
Health officials are now warning residents and travelers about the exposure while trying to directly notify passengers who shared flights with the infected person. In an announcement on April 9, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (DHW) said the infected person was at the Boise airport on March 29 between 1:30 am and 7:40 am while traveling through the area.

Measles symptoms—which begin with fever, cough, runny nose, and watery, red eyes—can develop between seven and 21 days after exposure, but typically start after 11 or 12 days. That means that for anyone infected during the airport exposure, the initial generic symptoms would likely have started over the weekend. The telltale rash of measles typically doesn’t appear until two to four days after those early flu-like symptoms. The rash begins on the head and moves down the body, while fever may spike to 104° F or higher. Infected people are infectious for four days before the rash appears and for four days after its onset.

Idaho is particularly susceptible to measles outbreaks. The state has the highest rate of non-medical vaccination exemptions in the country and, in turn, the lowest rate of vaccination coverage among kindergartners. In the 2024–2025 school year, 15.4 percent of Idaho kindergartners had an exemption that allowed them to skip the shot. Breaking those exemptions down, only 0.3 percent were for medical reasons, while 15.1 percent were non-medical exemptions.
2 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Measles takes a plane to Idaho, which has worst vaccination rate in US (Original Post) DBoon 9 hrs ago OP
Unfortunately, the children will suffer for the parents, dumb decisions Walleye 9 hrs ago #1
When decisions like this are shown at the state level, it tells me a lot about the individual states. walkingman 9 hrs ago #2

walkingman

(10,956 posts)
2. When decisions like this are shown at the state level, it tells me a lot about the individual states.
Tue Apr 14, 2026, 11:31 AM
9 hrs ago
Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Measles takes a plane to ...