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DC Health says schools have strong measles coverage but plans targeted spring outreach
Summary
Director Bennett told the committee DC schools generally have good measles coverage but a few schools—particularly east of the river—have lower rates; the agency plans spring-targeted outreach, coordination with Children's National and community engagement to avoid outbreaks.
Council members asked whether the district is vulnerable to measles outbreaks amid national resurgence. Director Ayanna Bennett said DC’s school vaccination coverage is "in much better shape than we would have been 5 years ago" but acknowledged a remaining "couple percent" gap to reach confident herd immunity. She warned that low-coverage schools face disruption if exposures occur and described spring outreach to align local partners and bring vaccines into affected communities.
Bennett described plans to shift focus away from exclusion-only enforcement toward springtime outreach and to coordinate with Children's National on measles planning. Senior deputy Sarah Beckwith said the agency will borrow outreach techniques from HIV prevention teams to reach hard-to-reach families and is meeting with Children's National to coordinate response activities. "We're also meeting with Children's National next week to coordinate and align on some of our measles planning and response activities," Beckwith said.
The committee asked for deployments to vulnerable schools before the end of the school year and for clearer school-level plans for outbreak response. DC Health said it would prioritize targeted communications, school-based vaccine access, and community partnerships in the spring months.
