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Richmond County health officials urge vaccinations as measles and whooping cough rise; monitor H5N1 risks
Summary
Richmond County Health Director Heather Horne urged residents to use expanded walk-in immunization hours and said the department is preparing for potential H5N1 exposures, while noting a recent national rise in measles and whooping cough cases and local outreach including bilingual billboards and breastfeeding clinics.
Heather Horne, Richmond County health director, told the Health and Human Services Advisory Board on March 18 that the county has expanded access to routine vaccines and is stepping up public education as several contagious diseases rise nationally.
"The Health Department has seen an increase in walk-ins to our immunization clinic," Horne said, noting walk-in vaccine hours are available 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to noon on Fridays. She said the department secured billboard advertising on Routes 1 and 74 with messages in English and Spanish to promote immunizations.
Horne gave the board a CDC-based update on measles, pertussis (whooping cough) and H5N1 avian influenza. She said that, as of March 6, 2025, the United States had reported 222 measles cases and two deaths across 12 states, and that U.S. kindergarten vaccination coverage had declined from 95.2% in 2019–20 to 92.7% in 2023–24 — leaving roughly 280,000 kindergartners vulnerable, according to the CDC figures she cited. "When more than 95% of people in a community are vaccinated most people are protected through community immunity," Horne said.
On pertussis, Horne outlined transmission and the CDC vaccine recommendations: DTaP for children 2 months to 6 years and Tdap for preteens, pregnant women and adults. She said treating pertussis early with antibiotics can reduce severity.
Horne also reviewed H5N1 developments. She said most recent U.S. human H5N1 cases have been associated with direct exposure to infected birds or dairy cows and that there has been no evidence, to date, of sustained human-to-human spread in the United States. The health director said Richmond County is coordinating with the Department of Agriculture and NC Cooperative Extension to prepare for a local response if needed.
The presentation included local program notes: the WIC program will host monthly breastfeeding clinics, and the health department sponsored a Richmond Community College student, Elizabeth Cook, who completed a three-month rotation through department units. Horne also highlighted that the county’s Environmental Health staff were recognized with the Samuel J. Crumbine Consumer Protection Award for meeting the FDA Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards.
Horne said the department will continue outreach and offer vaccines locally. The advisory board had no formal vote on the report; the meeting concluded without a quorum and routine minutes were deferred to the next meeting.
