Wednesday, April 16, 2014
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Central Ohio officials are warning that children without mumps vaccinations might have to miss weeks of school if an outbreak of the illness hits classrooms.
More than 200 cases of the contagious viral illness, with more than 130 of those linked to Ohio State University, have been reported this year.
The Columbus Dispatch reports today that the health commissioners for Columbus and Franklin County wrote letters to schools encouraging vaccinations.
The letters also advise parents that unvaccinated students might have to stay home 25 days or longer if clusters of mumps cases begin showing up in schools.
Officials have urged residents of the region to make sure they’ve been inoculated with two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.