City urges residents to ensure they’re vaccinated against measles

With measles outbreaks appearing across the country, Long Beach health officials are urging the public to ensure they’re vaccinated against the highly contagious virus.

While there are currently no reported measles cases in Long Beach, there are three recent cases in Los Angeles County and two in Orange County, according to the Long Beach Health Department.

“Vaccination remains the most effective way to prevent measles and protect community health,” city health officials said Tuesday.

Measles is a virus that is transmitted through the air by coughing, sneezing or simply being in a room with an infected person, even up to an hour after they have left the area, according to the Health Department.

Symptoms include a high fever, cough, runny nose, red and watery eyes and a rash that usually starts on the face and then spreads downward. Most people recover within two weeks, health officials said.

But measles can lead to serious complications, especially in infants, pregnant people and people with compromised immune systems. These complications include pneumonia, brain swelling (encephalitis) and death, according to the Health Department.

There is no special treatment for measles, beyond care that focuses on relieving symptoms and preventing complications.

The best way to protect yourself against measles is through the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, which is safe and highly effective, health officials said.

Two vaccine doses are about 97% effective at preventing infection, while a single dose provides about 93% protection, according to the Health Department.

The city Health Department recommends the following:

• Children receive the first MMR dose at age 12-15 months and the second at age 4-6 years.
• Anyone born after 1957 who has not been vaccinated or is unsure of their status should get the MMR vaccine.
• Before international travel, babies age 6-11 months should receive one dose of MMR vaccine.

Vaccines are available at healthcare providers and pharmacies. Families with children who are uninsured or on Medi-Cal can call 562-570-7912 for access to low-cost vaccination services through the Health Department’s Immunization Clinic.

While most insurance plans cover the vaccine, those who are uninsured or underinsured can get free or low-cost vaccination through state programs, health officials said.

For more information and measles-related resources, go to longbeach.gov/measles or call the Communicable Disease Surveillance and Control line at 562-570-4302.

In 2000, the Pan American Health Organization declared that measles had been eliminated from the U.S., according to NPR.

Recent outbreaks in multiple states now imperil that designation. Nearly a thousand people have become infected so far in South Carolina while a recent anti-abortion rally may have spread the virus to Washington, DC, according to NPR.

There are also outbreaks in Utah, Washington, Arizona, Florida, Virginia and about a dozen other states.

The outbreaks are so serious that Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, urged people to get vaccinated.

“Take the vaccine, please,” said Oz, according to The Guardian. “We have a solution for our problem.”

Since Donald Trump became president again in early 2025, U.S. health officials, led by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have been highly critical of all vaccines. Prior to joining the Trump Administration, Kennedy repeatedly criticized the uses of vaccines, despite a longtime scientific consensus that vaccine use is safe and effective.

In June 2019, Kennedy traveled to American Samoa to meet with local health officials in an attempt to dissuade them from using vaccines, according to newly disclosed emails by the Associated Press and The Guardian. Thousands of residents there caught the measles that year, with 83 dying, most of whom were children under the age of five, according to The Guardian.

During his Senate confirmation hearing last year, Kennedy denied that his visit to American Samoa had anything to do with vaccines.