Seventh-grader Emily Allred and her mom recently rode their bikes to the firehouse in the small Bitterroot Valley town of Corvallis. They were there for a back-to-school vaccine clinic put on by the Ravalli County health department. With one quick poke, Allred got up to date on her tetanus vaccine.
Allred’s mom, Melissa, said her older kids got chickenpox when they were younger. That’s what convinced her to immunize her family.
“It’s important. You know, smallpox was eradicated because of vaccines,” Allred said. “Polio is no longer a thing, and it used to cripple our grandparents. So, grateful they did this for us today.”
Montana saw measles infections for the first time in 35 years this summer. School administrators say the virus could keep some students out of class if they’re infected.
Vaccination rates in schools are no longer gathered statewide, but some districts are sharing that information. Experts say smaller, more rural schools could be at risk of more infections because of lower vaccination rates.
That troubles Ravalli County Public Health Officer Tiffany Webber. She says she watched nervously as measles cases cropped up in Montana this year. The virus can be deadly for children.
“The last thing I want to do is wait until the last minute, when I have a case, to talk to schools,” Webber said.
Webber told superintendents that infections could keep unvaccinated students and staff out of class for three weeks because measles has a long incubation period.
Montana law still requires students to get some vaccines before coming to class. But state laws passed in 2021 and 2023 stopped public collection of vaccination data from districts. They also made it easier to get religious exemptions.
The state issued its most recent school vaccination report in 2019. Montana Public Radio requested data from 15 districts across its listening area. Nine shared their measles vaccination rates. Six did not respond to MTPR’s request or denied it outright.
In Hamilton, just south of Corvallis, 87% of students were vaccinated against measles last year. Federal health officials say rates should be at 95% or higher to prevent outbreaks.
Webber said superintendents were alarmed when they learned how long students and staff could be held out of class.
“It was a little PTSD for me,” Webber said. “Some of the superintendents were just absolutely like, ‘You can’t do this. We can’t go back to that battleground. Are you going to come out? Are you going to be here? Are you going to tell parents?’”
Thompson Falls Public Schools reported a 90% measles vaccination rate to MTPR, while Eureka reported 80%. Rates like that are concerning to Webber.
“It’s not enough,” Webber told MTPR. “It’s not enough.”
She said infections could spread more easily in districts with rates below herd immunity.
Larger schools including those in Kalispell, Missoula, Butte, Bozeman, Helena and Great Falls reported vaccination rates 92% and above.
Without the state’s annual school vaccination report, it’s hard to know whether use of religious exemptions has grown since lawmakers made them easier to get. Superintendents MTPR spoke with say anecdotally they’ve seen more of them in recent years.
University of Montana epidemiologist Sophia Newcomer says misinformation on the internet, changes in federal vaccine recommendations and rhetoric from politicians are also influencing parents’ decision whether to vaccinate their kids. She says it can be hard for parents to know who to believe.
“I really advise my friends to turn off their phones, sign off social media, and go talk to a doctor or nurse that they trust and ask the questions that they have about vaccines,” Newcomer said.
Rural superintendents like Joel Graves in Eureka know their vaccination rates are low. But, they have little power to raise them.
“And having been through what we went through with COVID a few years ago, the reality that schools can be shut down is a real thing,” Graves said. “So, it is a concern.”
Montana reported 31 measles cases so far this year. Superintendents like Graves hope those numbers don’t rise.
