How to protect your student from the Measles

The U.S. is in the middle of the largest measles outbreak in 25 years. More than 1,100 people have gotten sick from measles nationwide. We are not currently in an outbreak in Colorado. But Denver is vulnerable, and it’s important for you to have information about the risks and the ways to prevent an outbreak here.

Click here to learn where your student can get vaccinated

Public Health Notice English

Aviso de salud pública Espanol

Thông báo của Sở Y tế Công cộng 

Protect your child from measles

• Find your child’s vaccine record and look to see if your child is up-to-date with the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, called the MMR vaccine. Share that record with your child’s DPS school as soon as possible. If you cannot find your record, talk to your doctor/care provider or see if your record can be found at www.covaxrecords.org.
• Find the vaccine records of adults in your home. Anyone who got the measles shot before 1989 may need another shot to be safe. Talk to your doctor or care provider.

 Measles spreads easily and can cause permanent harm 

Measles can be dangerous for babies and children. At first, it looks like a cold. Your child may sneeze and cough and have a fever. Then your child gets a rash all over his or her body. Your child can infect another person even before the rash appears. 

Measles spreads easily. It spreads when someone coughs or sneezes. The virus lives in the air, after a cough or sneeze, for up to two hours. The virus even stays alive on surfaces – like desks and counters – for up to two hours. 

 What happens if a measles outbreak occurs in my child’s school? 

If your child gets measles, your child must stay home for 4 days after he or she gets the rash. 

If your child spends any time with a person who has measles and cannot prove he or she has been vaccinated or has had measles before, your child is at risk. Your child must stay home and away from school until the outbreak is over. The outbreak ends 21 days after a rash appears on the last person who got sick at your child’s school. 

Where to get vaccinated 

For more information about measles, including places to get no-cost and low-cost vaccines, go to www.denverpublichealth.org/DPSmeasles.