"Vaccination goes hand in hand with the amount of the disease that's being seen," said Vidya Mony, a pediatric infectious disease physician at Santa Clara Valley Healthcare."
""We are very lucky in the Bay Area and California that we have mandates for school entry," Mony said. "You create a cocoon effect for everyone around you who can't get vaccinated. It's called herd immunity.""
Two measles cases occurred in the Bay Area in the first weeks of 2026, including a recent infection in an unvaccinated person in San Mateo County. The latest infection has not led to additional cases. High vaccination rates across much of the Bay Area limit opportunities for the highly contagious virus to spread. More than 2,140 measles cases were confirmed nationwide last year, with California accounting for 25. California requires most school-age children to receive two MMR doses and eliminated personal-belief exemptions in 2015. Kindergarten vaccination rates in Santa Clara and Alameda counties reached 98% in 2023-24, above the 95% threshold for herd immunity.
Read at The Mercury News
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