CHICAGO– Seven people living in a Chicago migrant shelter have tested positive for measles since last week, prompting the arrival of a team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to review city and state officials’ response to the infections guidance, including vaccination efforts.
A total of eight infections have been reported in the city since Thursday, which was the first case of measles detected locally since 2019, according to the Chicago Department of Public Health. The first case — an adult — was not a shelter resident.
Measles is a contagious virus that is still common in many countries outside the US. Cases in the U.S. have come from international travelers — mostly Americans who have not been vaccinated, the CDC said.
The city publicly reported the first case Friday at the shelter where about 1,900 people lived. The other cases at the former warehouse in the Pilsen district quickly followed, including three confirmed Tuesday.
The department said those infected include four children and three adults. Nearly 900 residents have received vaccines as of Thursday evening, officials said.
The measles vaccine is not recommended during pregnancy or for children under 1 year of age.
“We have not seen any cases of new arrivals with measles,” said Dr. Olusimbo Ige, the city’s public health commissioner, Wednesday. “Cases of measles have been identified here. And so we have worked very hard and taken our responsibility to seriously protect the health of the newcomers.”
The cluster within the city-run shelter highlighted Chicago’s multi-layered struggle to respond to the arrival of nearly 37,000 migrants since 2022, when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began sending buses to so-called sanctuary cities.
Chicago initially used police stations and airports as officials looked for other temporary shelters. On Tuesday, a city dashboard showed more than 11,000 people remain in city-run shelters.
Providing medical care is part of that effort; from vaccinations to treating conditions developed during exhausting journeys to reach the U.S. border with Mexico.
Many migrants landing in Chicago come from Venezuela, where a social, political and economic crisis has pushed millions into poverty. The situation and shortage of doctors and medicines have affected the availability and affordability of routine care, as well as confidence in medical institutions. Venezuela reports one of the lowest childhood vaccination rates in the world.
Cook County officials opened a clinic in 2022 to provide immediate care, vaccinations and access to other public health services.
Alex Normington, a spokesperson for Cook County Health, said providers there are offering all essential vaccinations and more than 73,000 have been given against measles, flu, COVID-19 and other viruses.
Providers also rotate through each city shelter and have expanded their hours as measles cases have risen, Normington said.
But volunteer organizations working with migrants have regularly criticized conditions in the city’s shelters, especially after the death in December of a five-year-old boy who fell ill while staying at the same shelter where cases of measles have been reported.
They claim the cases are a result of the city, county, state and federal government’s failure to support the health needs of newcomers.
“This is not the newcomers’ fault — this is a public health emergency long in the making,” Annie Gomberg, a volunteer, said in a statement. “Everyone who arrives here must be screened and vaccinated, just as we did at Ellis Island more than 100 years ago. Not put in crowded shelters to waste away.”
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Associated Press reporter Sophia Tareen in Chicago and medical writer Mike Stobbe in New York contributed.