Orange County medical director Erica Pettigrew joins Aaron to discuss an upcoming public symposium on measles and the MMR vaccine. “Bringing Immunity to the Community” will take place Friday, May 30, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., free and open to everyone.

Click here to register and get the full schedule for the event. Register by May 23 if you want to attend.

Dr. Pettigrew also discusses the measles in general: because we’ve been so successful at reducing case numbers through vaccines, most Americans today have no memory of how bad it can be – but it is a potentially deadly disease, one that killed hundreds of kids a year before the MMR vaccine was developed. All the more reason for parents to get their kids vaccinated: Pettigrew says we need 95 percent of residents to be vaccinated in order to achieve ‘herd immunity.’ Orange County’s vaccination rate is above that threshold, but North Carolina as a whole is slightly below, and falling.

Click here for more information on the measles, courtesy of the Orange County Health Department.

97.9 The Hill WCHL and Chapelboro.com are your headquarters for local news and local voices in Chapel Hill-Carrboro. Every weekday morning, 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck chats with government officials, UNC scholars, business and nonprofit leaders, area musicians, and others in our community as they share their thoughts, their experience, and their expertise on the central issues of today. Click here to listen back to all of Aaron’s conversations – and tune in to “This Morning with Aaron Keck” at 7:30 a.m. on 97.9 The Hill to hear those conversations live.

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