{"id":6879,"date":"2025-03-31T11:56:26","date_gmt":"2025-03-31T15:56:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/?p=6879"},"modified":"2025-04-02T10:45:57","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T14:45:57","slug":"aft-hosts-webinar-on-measles-outbreak-for-educators-health-care-professionals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-43-no-3\/aft-hosts-webinar-on-measles-outbreak-for-educators-health-care-professionals\/","title":{"rendered":"AFT hosts webinar on measles outbreak for educators, health care professionals"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Dr.
Dr. Vin Gupta is shown in a screen grab from the webinar. You can view the full webinar here<\/a>.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

April 3, 2025 —<\/em> \u201cHere we are again, talking about a preventable public health crisis that is disrupting schools, straining health care systems and putting our most vulnerable at risk. And this one we thought we had solved decades ago,\u201d said Randi Weingarten, president of AFT. \u201cMeasles was eliminated in the U.S. in 2000. Today we\u2019re seeing outbreaks in multiple states, and educators, school nurses and health care workers are once again left to pick up the pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weingarten said misinformation and disinformation are rampant about vaccines and how the disease spreads. The webinar sought to educate listeners and emphasized facts over fear.<\/p>\n

\u201cMeasles is not just a school issue,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a public health issue. It\u2019s a workforce issue. It\u2019s a community issue. It\u2019s all of our issues. Our members care for sick kids. They are really trying every single day to keep schools and hospitals safe and welcoming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gupta explained the difference between measles and chicken pox, both of which present with rashes and both of which typically impact children, especially if they are not vaccinated.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe key difference is that measles is highly contagious, and the sequence of symptoms is different,\u201d he said. \u201cFlu-like symptoms up to 7 to 14 days, then two to three days later, tiny white spots in the mouth. A day or two after that, red, round lesions start at the forehead and then go down the trunk and down to the extremities. Chicken pox presents on the belly and back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vaccination is the best way to control outbreaks, Gupta said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no evidence at all that vaccines are unsafe or cause serious side effects,\u201d he assured. \u201cCommon side effects are injection site reactions and muscle aches. There is no evidence of a link to autism. It has been repeatedly studied over the last 30 years. The answer is no, it\u2019s wrong, it\u2019s false.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoffman concurred.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe science is settled,\u201d he said. \u201cMore research has been done on measles than any other vaccine in history. It\u2019s unimpeachable and beyond question. It is the same degree of misinformation as somebody who believed in a flat earth. Anybody who is marketing misinformation around measles and autism, they are trying to convince you the earth is flat.\u201d<\/p>\n

The misinformation is prevalent and dangerous, with people self-medicating with cod liver oil and vitamin A. People aren\u2019t seeking care because they are led to believe these alternatives are effective, Gupta said.<\/p>\n

PEF Vice President Randi DiAntonio asked what people should do if they can\u2019t find their records of vaccination. If you have a primary doctor, consult them, but if you don\u2019t, Gupta shared a basic breakdown.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you were born before 1957, my advice is to just get a booster shot or if you want more data, get a measles titer assessment (an immunity test). Do it soon,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you were born between 1957 and 1989, and you have no documentation of two shots, just get the measles shot. After 1989, there are usually no issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can view the webinar here<\/a>. AFT plans additional webinars with Dr. Gupta focused on public health issues throughout the year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

April 3, 2025 — \u201cHere we are again, talking about a preventable public health crisis that is disrupting schools, straining health care systems and putting our most vulnerable at risk….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"division":[],"allowed_regions":[],"allowed_divisions":[],"class_list":["post-6879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","issue-volume-43-no-3"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAFT hosts webinar on measles outbreak for educators, health care professionals - PEF Communicator<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-43-no-3\/aft-hosts-webinar-on-measles-outbreak-for-educators-health-care-professionals\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"AFT hosts webinar on measles outbreak for educators, health care professionals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"April 3, 2025 — \u201cHere we are again, talking about a preventable public health crisis that is disrupting schools, straining health care systems and putting our most vulnerable at risk....\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/issue\/volume-43-no-3\/aft-hosts-webinar-on-measles-outbreak-for-educators-health-care-professionals\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PEF Communicator\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-31T15:56:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-02T14:45:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/communicator.pef.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/03\/Gupta.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"326\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"ksheehan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ksheehan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-43-no-3\\\/aft-hosts-webinar-on-measles-outbreak-for-educators-health-care-professionals\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-43-no-3\\\/aft-hosts-webinar-on-measles-outbreak-for-educators-health-care-professionals\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"ksheehan\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b56382350a9a958e03dcd60443bfbf7e\"},\"headline\":\"AFT hosts webinar on measles outbreak for educators, health care professionals\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-31T15:56:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-02T14:45:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-43-no-3\\\/aft-hosts-webinar-on-measles-outbreak-for-educators-health-care-professionals\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":562,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-43-no-3\\\/aft-hosts-webinar-on-measles-outbreak-for-educators-health-care-professionals\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/Gupta.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-43-no-3\\\/aft-hosts-webinar-on-measles-outbreak-for-educators-health-care-professionals\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/communicator.pef.org\\\/issue\\\/volume-43-no-3\\\/aft-hosts-webinar-on-measles-outbreak-for-educators-health-care-professionals\\\/\",\"name\":\"AFT hosts webinar on measles outbreak for educators, health care professionals - 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