Two unvaccinated Marin children have been confirmed to have measles, county health officials announced Thursday night in an advisory sent to all Marin County clinicians.
Dr. Matt Willis, Marin Health Officer, told the Marin Independent Journal that the two children were members of the same family and that they had become infected outside the county. The children are of school age, Willis added, but no other unvaccinated children would be barred from attending school.
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"These were two children who were out of school well before and throughout any infectious period," Willis said. "The infectious period for measles is usually around eight days."
For this reason, the protocol of excluding unvaccinated children will not be observed, Willis said.
Willis said the two children "have been safely isolated from the community, and will remain isolated for the next three weeks. The health department is in regular contact with the family."
The children were out of the county for part of that interval and were not in direct contact with anyone in the community, Willis said. "We are taking appropriate measures to protect the community against further spread," he said.
Carl Krawitt, the Marin father of a child who cannot be vaccinated because he is recovering from cancer treatment, said he is "sorry for children who are sick and hope they heal fast." Krawitt has been advocating for changes in policy that would require schools to bar unvaccinated children from school, until they are immunized.
Marin is the 10th California county to see measles cases in the outbreak that started in connection to Disneyland in December. The new cases bring the statewide total in the current outbreak to 81.