Measles Outbreak Over
On Wednesday Lane County Health and Human services declared the recent outbreak of Measles was over. According to Jason Davis the public information officer with Lane County it has been more that 21 days since the last known exposure took place. 2019 has been the highest number of measles cases in more than a decade with 1276 cases around the U.S. this year. Marc Shcnapper is the Medical director for Urgent Care with Nova Health says there is a contingent of cases that come from international travel, but the concern about measles is still a local one.
“The vast majority of outbreaks in the United States still occur in smaller populations that have large unvaccinated rates.”
According to the CDC the last time that there were this many cases in the U.S. was in 1994. Schnapper says that while more people may be opting to not get vaccinated, the vaccines have an important roll, even though some risks occur.
”Vaccines are being done for the vast majority of illnesses to prevent things that we don’t have true treatment capabilities for.”
Schnapper say parents should be educated when deciding whether or not to vaccinate. He also recommends speaking with your primary care physician. He says that while there is an accepted regimen for vaccines, there are options for getting singular doses for specific diseases.
Oregon Pacific Bank Celebrates 40
December 17th marks the 40th year that Oregon Pacific Bank has been serving the community. OPB will celebrate this milestone with a business afterhours hosted by the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce on December 19th beginning at 5:30 at their location on Highway 101. OPB’s growth has expanded into Eugene this past year with an office on 11th avenue. OPB employees more than 100 people in the communities they serve.
Whale Watching
Whales are heading south for the winter! Whale watching is a big event along the coast and the most prevalent opportunity for seeing them along the Oregon Coast is generally during the last week of December which is designated Winter Whale Watch Week. The period of travel for the whales extends past the week of December 27 through the 31st, but that is the time that the majority of the population heads through our waters. Oregon Parks and Recreation Department writes that an “estimated 25,000 Gray Whales are expected over the next several weeks” while heading to warmer water. Oregon State parks has also set up a live streaming via the state parks youtube channel.
