Statistically, this disease kills one in a thousand people. Pneumonia and encephalitis are the most dangerous complications. There is a vaccine but as 5 to 10 percent of people who get vaccinated don’t develop the full immune response needed. Babies too young to be vaccinated, under the age of 1, are very vulnerable. However, “vaccination is safe and effective,” and “people who are unvaccinated should know that there is presently a risk for getting measles in California,” Dr. Gil Chavez, state epidemiologist for California, told to the media. The highly contagious virus has already infected at least 70 people in six states and in Mexico.
