An infant has contracted Measles at the Santa Monica High child care center, prompting health officials on Tuesday to quarantine fourteen babies younger than a year old.
The diagnosis is particularly bad news, since the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) shot is not administered until a child reaches 12-months-old. As a result of the incident, the Samohi Infant/Toddler Center — on the campus of Santa Monica High School — has been shut down indefinitely by state health officials.
The Los Angeles Times reported that 7% of the students at the high school have been excused from the vaccination for personal or religious beliefs or for medical reasons.
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District spokeswoman Gail Pinsker said that although they have not diagnosed any other cases of the measles, they are monitoring 13 other infants who have been in contact with the Toddler Center.
The parents were notified over the weekend that an infant had been diagnosed and were asked to keep their children at home and away from any public place for 21 days. Pinsker said that, “The district is asking for these families to abide by this public health recommendation.”
Breitbart News reported in January that Santa Monica High School notified parents of all students that a walk-on freshman baseball coach had contracted measles.