Contain the Spread

Measles hasn’t been a concern for years, but with the most recent outbreak at Broomfield High School, many fears have been raised about what could happen with the spread of this disease.

With the spread of Measles students have differing opinions about the outbreak and what could happen.

“I’m scared to get measles. It’s scary how close it is since the recent outbreaks are at Broomfield [High School] and that is only about 5 minutes away from us and there  are a lot of people who are friends with kids there,” commented senior Riley Clark.

While JA hasn’t had any spread yet, there was an outbreak of measles at Broomfield High School.

“The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has reported three confirmed cases of measles with two at Broomfield High School…If an exposure occurs, any student who is exposed and does not have documented immunity must stay home and quarantine from all school activities for up to 21 days,” stated in an email sent out by Kelly Gall, the Health Services Coordinator.

With this outbreak at Broomfield High School there are concerns for the students who have or are at risk of exposure to Measles.

“I feel bad for the students who have to go through it at Broomfield, and for the people who aren’t vaccinated because part of it is not their choice,” mentioned junior Keira Grigsby.

Fortunately there has not been any breakouts of Measles at JA so far, however there are precautions set to help prevent the spread.

“The first thing is to understand who is vaccinated, and who is not. I'm collecting the staff's vaccinations records, knowing who is vaccinated or not. We will be able to contact those who are not vaccinated to let them know if there was someone with measles,” Principal Dr. Schultz explained.

Even in the event that a student were to contract measles, admin has a set protocol for what the student should do.

Schultz mentioned, “If someone here has the measles I have a letter read that would go to un-vaccinated kids, because those are the students who are most at risk…they would have to be quarantined for 21 days.” 

Since the spread of Measles is easily preventable because of vaccinations there are many opinions about vaccinations.

“I honestly think vaccinations are important, especially ones like these. It helps prevent things like measles. Some might be a little bit useless but I think some are beneficial,” expressed Grigsby.

There are many students with connections to students at Broomfield High School. Because of the outbreak, many are concerned about the spread of Measles to JA.

Clark added, “I am worried about Measles spreading to JA. It’s just another thing that would be going around and there have already been a lot of people with the flu that spread so it is a little bit concerning with Measles spreading.”

Measles is a scary thing to think about contracting, with this concern Dr. Schultz and admin are doing everything they can to prevent the spread and ease students and parents' minds about measles. 

“We confirm and make sure we have the right factual evidence to know that a student has measles, and we are prepared to send out a letter. Safety is super important if you're sick, stay home,” Schultz expressed.