Katie Drummond: Got it. Wow. We are in the midst of this epidemic we talked about at the top. What’s going on now? Once an epidemic of measles is there, propagates among a community, how to contain something like that? What are the next steps necessary for the United States to really take this epidemic under control?
Emily Mullin: Yeah. Well, it’s a great question. We have already seen epidemics of measles. You may remember that there was a large measles epidemic in 2019 which was concentrated in the Orthodox Jewish communities in New York. These strategic boots really took the field to enter the community, fight against disinformation, providing culturally sensitive information on the advantages of the ROR vaccine to obtain prices there. Because again, there is no effective treatment for measles. It takes isolation, vaccination because to be clear, we see these reds in measles due to the drop in national vaccination rates. People do not trust the vaccines right now. For measles, the vaccination rate in a community must be very high, 95%, to avoid epidemics because it is so contagious. In the county of Gaines, Texas, which has the majority of cases at the moment, the rate of vaccination of the measles of kindergarten is 82%.
Katie Drummond: Wow.
Emily Mullin: This is why we see such a strong concentration of cases. But in New Mexico, in the county of Lee where most cases of new-mexic occur, the vaccination rates in measles are quite higher, around 94%. But again, it is a very contagious virus. We really need these rates up to around 95%. This is what epidemiologists say who are really necessary for the protection of a community.
Katie Drummond: Just to emphasize this last time. The ROR vaccine, what is the effectiveness of this vaccine to prevent measles in a given person?
Emily Mullin: One dose of the vaccine is 93% effective against measles, and two doses are 97% effective. This first dose is recommended for children generally aged 12 to 15 months. Then, this second dose is generally given when a child is between four and six years old.
Katie Drummond: Got it. We also speak, still, of the most vulnerable people in a community, babies, young children, in terms of risk of measles contract. It certainly seems that vaccines are a better option than cod liver oil, if I can say. We are going to take a short break. Thank you, Emily. When we come back, what you have to read on Wired today. Welcome back to Strange valley. I am Katie Drummond, world editorial director of Wired. I am joined by Emily Mullin of Wired. Now, Emily, before letting you go, I actually want to present you, you and our listeners, on a story that everyone should read on Wired.com today, apart from the excellent stories that we mentioned in this episode. This is a feature that we have published today by Wired’s contributor Lauren Smiley. Lauren is an incredible journalist, an incredible narrative writer. She made a deep dive in Boeing. If you are not already terrified by plane trips, given everything that is going on with the FAA at the moment and everything that has happened with Boeing in recent years, this story will not make you feel better. I say that like someone who takes a lot of Xanax before taking a flight. This story will make you more nervous about the safety of plane travel. But it is this captivating story told through the eyes of a man who really worked at Boeing for many years, had a lot of concerns about security in Boeing manufacturing facilities, aircraft safety and often sounded the alarm within the company. Until he finally left the company, and then then starting to see terrible plane accidents, serious incidents with Boeing planes that he had been partly responsible for manufacturing and creation. It is his trip as a denunciator, and the way he left Boeing and becoming a whistleblower, he in fact became this focal point for families of people who lost their lives in Boeing plane accidents. It has become a focal point for other denunciators who presented detrimental information on what is happening within the company. It is really the story of a man, his name is Ed Pierson, and his mission which continues today to reveal what he describes as false steps and serious misdeeds of Boeing which affect our security when we enter a plane. It’s an incredible story. Again, that won’t feel good, but it’s a very good reading. I highly recommend everyone who gives him a look. Emily, I think you said you’ve read this story earlier during the day, so I suspect that you agree with me.
