Afghan evacuees arrive at Hamad International Airport in Doha, the capital of Qatar, on the first flight carrying foreigners out of the Afghan capital since the conclusion of the U.S. withdrawal last month, on 9 September 2021.
Karim Jafaar | AFP | Getty Images
WASHINGTON – Entry flights to Afghan refugees into the United States will be suspended for at least another week, a White House spokeswoman said Monday, after discovering four cases of measles among newly arrived Afghans.
The flights, which were stopped for the first time on Friday, “will remain stopped for at least an additional 7 days,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard the Air Force. One in the direction of Boise, Idaho. A White House official later clarified that this meant a week from Monday, not a week from last Friday.
Measles is a highly contagious virus that can be spread by coughing or sneezing. In 2000, the Centers for Disease Control declared that measles was no longer transmitted among Americans.
Afghans who were diagnosed with measles “are housed separately according to public health guidelines and the CDC has begun locating contacts,” Jean-Pierre said.
Tens of thousands of Afghan refugees currently housed in U.S. military bases are being given “critical immunizations, including [measles, mumps and rubella]”, Said Jean-Pierre.
“We will soon start vaccinating Afghans against MMR while they are still abroad,” he added.
All who arrive as part of Operation Allies Welcome must be vaccinated against measles as a condition of entry.
It was unclear on Monday exactly how many Afghans bound for the United States stayed at dozens of U.S. and Allied military bases around the world that agreed to take in refugees during the massive airlift of the past two weeks in August.
By the end of September, the United States expects to admit approximately 65,000 refugees through Operation Allies Welcome.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people can become infected with measles if they breathe polluted air or if they touch a contaminated surface and then touch their eyes, nose, or mouth.
Prior to the introduction of the measles vaccine in 1963, approximately half a million new cases of measles were reported to the CDC every half year.
The vaccine reduced case loads for decades, until it was finally considered that measles was eliminated in 2000.
But the growing number of parents in the past ten years who refuse to vaccinate their children has led to a resurgence of the disease in the United States.
In 2019, hundreds of measles cases were reported in the United States, a big leap over previous years.