On this week's broadcast of Mountain Stage, we revisit an episode from 2019 featuring Gregory Alan Isakov, Elysian Fields, Mandolin Orange, The Brother Brothers and Hush Kids. Recorded in Morgantown, West Virginia at the WVU Canady Creative Arts Center with host Larry Groce.
Immunization Summit Brings Awareness of Measles Outbreak to W.Va.
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The hot topic at this year’s Immunization Summit in Charleston was measles. An outbreak of the disease in Ohio has health care officials in West Virginia worried.
250 individuals representing school nurses, public and private health care providers, state health officials, and coalition members and partners from around the state attended the Immunization Summit to discuss how West Virginia can tackle Vaccine-Preventable Diseases. But Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Assistant Surgeon General, Rear Admiral, Dr. Anne Schuchat, says the biggest thing folks in West Virginia need to worry about is measles.
“We’re at a twenty year high with measles, and the biggest outbreak is right next door in Ohio. Unfortunately, West Virginia has pretty low vaccine coverage against measles. Only at 85%, and that means that 15% of the children in West Virginia are vulnerable to measles. Measles can be serious and is really infectious, so I would encourage everybody to make sure their kids have gotten the recommended vaccine doses.”
According to Schuchat, there is currently a large outbreak of measles in the Philippines with over 30,000 cases. While the United States has been able to mostly prevent measles from spreading within the country, health officials did not anticipate catching it abroad.
“What happened in Ohio is that some individuals went to do mission work, to do humanitarian assistance in the Philippines, but they’d never been vaccinated. They got measles, they brought it back, they spread it within their own communities.”
Dr. Schuchat encourages adults as well as children to get their measles vaccination, and says West Virginia is a little bit behind the national average and she hopes the Immunization Summit will inspire families to get their vaccinations.
Asheville, North Carolina has an eclectic dining scene and one of its “hidden” gems is Neng Jr.’s. It serves elevated Filipino cuisine in a little restaurant that’s tucked away in an alley on Asheville’s artsy West Side. Folkways Reporter Margaret McLeod Leef visited and brings us this story.
This week on Inside Appalachia, a chef has created a hidden culinary hot spot in Asheville, North Carolina that’s attracting national attention for its eclectic menu and Filipino hospitality. Also, every thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail begins with a first step. Famed hiker Jennifer Pharr Davis shares hers.