Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon says more needs to be done to improve the state's preschool vaccination rate, revealed this week to be below the threshold needed to preserve herd immunity.
"We need to make sure especially young kids are getting that measles vaccination so we don't have any of the bad things that can happen with measles outbreaks," says Nixon.
Currently 89.9 percent of Missouri preschoolers have received the two vaccines they need to protect them from measles, mumps and rubella. It takes a 90 percent vaccination rate to protect herd immunity, including those who cannot receive the vaccine due to allergy or illness, as well as babies who are too young to receive the vaccine.
Nixon says parents, schools and health educators need to work together to improve Missouri's vaccination rate and avoid outbreaks like the one that began in Disneyland in California.
"Vaccinations not only deal with the individual, but on these communicable diseases, they prevent many others from getting those diseases," says Nixon. "Having the ability to stamp out polio and other diseases is important."
