Measles Vaccine Administered to ECC Students, Staff

The Kane County Health Department began administering vaccination shots to Elgin Community College students and staff Friday in wake of this week’s news that one of the 11 reported cases of measles in Cook County was a student at ECC.

The shots are a proactive measure to help halt the further spread of the disease, a spokesman for the health department told the Daily Herald.

Before being diagnosed the student, who is a resident of Cook County, attended classes in the campus’ A and B Buildings on Feb. 3 and Feb. 5, as well as visited the library on Feb. 3, school officials said.

Any students or staff members who believe they may have been exposed to the measles at the campus and have not yet been vaccinated are eligible for a free shot.

"If you have the measles, and you get a shot, it's not going to get rid of the measles," health department spokesman Tom Schlueter said in a statement. "But it can reduce the severity of the symptoms and possibly reduce the ability to spread it to other people."

The Cook County Health Department said the student is associated with the KinderCare in Palatine that is at the center of last week's outbreak of the highly infectious disease.

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