Two Chicago Public Schools students were among a handful to reportedly have measles.
Sun-Times file
Two Chicago Public Schools students were among a handful of people reported to have measles, bringing the city’s total up to 10 as of Wednesday evening, health and school officials confirmed.
Earlier this week, CPS learned of a positive measles case involving a student at Philip D. Armour Elementary School in Bridgeport and the Chicago Department of Public Health confirmed another case at Cooper Dual Language Elementary Academy in Pilsen.
Both schools communicated with all staff and families as part of “normal protocols.”
“The health, safety and well-being of our students and staff is a top priority and that is why Chicago Public Schools continues to work closely with our City partners, including the Chicago Department of Public Health to respond to any unvaccinated students, and two reported positive measles cases involving CPS students,” CPS said in a statement. “We will continue to provide resources, support and information to our entire community to ensure our valued staff and families have the appropriate information to stay safe.”
In a letter Wednesday, CPS CEO Pedro Martinez urged families and staff to reach out to their healthcare providers if they were unsure about their vaccination status and to visit pharmacies or CDPH immunization clinics to get the Measles, Mumps, Rubella vaccine if they need it.
Martinez wrote that “news like this can be unsettling, but I want to assure our CPS community that our schools are safe.”
He added the outbreak doesn’t share similarities with the COVID-19 pandemic since “the vast majority of Chicago residents — more than 90 percent — are protected from measles by the MMR vaccine.”
The Chicago Department of Public Health advised all school-aged Pilsen shelter residents to stay in place and to not attend school since last Friday as the department and CPS continue to verify the vaccination status of Pilsen shelter residents after several cases of measles were identified inside a Pilsen migrant shelter.
Of the 10 confirmed cases, eight have been reported from the Pilsen shelter, according to the department.
Last week, the department confirmed the first two measles cases in the city since 2019.
Symptoms of measles, an airborne virus, can include rash, high fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes, health officials said. Symptoms can take from seven to 21 days to show up after a person is exposed to someone with measles.
The virus is transmitted by direct contact with infectious droplets or by airborne spread when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Measles virus can remain infectious in the air for up to two hours after an infected person leaves an area.