Data released by the New York State Department of Health reveals huge disparities in childhood measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination rates across Ulster County.

The report shows that the lowest vax rate for MMR in the county is in zip code 12404, which covers Accord, Mettacahonts, Whitfield, and Lyonsville. Just 57.1 percent of kids in this zip code have received the vaccine. (The national average is about 91 percent, and dropping.)

The next lowest rate in the county is in zip code 12428 (Ellenville, Greenfield Park and Spring Glen) where 69.3 percent of children have been vaccinated.

By contrast, 100 percent of children in zip code 12525 (Gardiner and Modena) and 90.5 percent of children in zip code 12547 (Milton) have received the vaccine.

The report explains that these rates are calculated on data up to January 1, based on the number of children aged 24-35 months who received at least one dose of MMR before their second birthday. The data does not reflect the whole county, since zip codes with fewer than 20 eligible kids are not included in the report – which rules out 42 zip codes in the county, including low density areas like High Falls and Cragsmoor.

The vaccine protects against three ailments, but it’s measles which is getting attention right now. Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to science. It causes symptoms like white mouth spots, rash, high fever, cough, runny nose, and sore throat. It can lead to pneumonia, encephalitis, and death.

Infection rates dropped dramatically throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries, but have picked up in the past decade. The CDC reported 285 cases in the US in 2024 and over 164 cases in nine states this year already. Ulster County reports that no infected person had completed the two-dose MMR vaccination cycle, though the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reports that at least five had received their first dose. An unvaccinated child in Texas and an unvaccinated adult in New Mexico died – the first fatal cases in a decade.

Ulster County currently has no known cases of measles, but officials urge vaccination for vulnerable people.

“The vaccine is recommended for children from 12 to 15 months of age, with a second dose given at four to six years of age,” said Ulster County Public Health Director Eve Walter. “Adults who have not had the MMR vaccine or have not had a documented case of measles can also get vaccinated.”

Ulster County offers free vaccines to uninsured residents. You can call the Department of Health at (845) 340–3150 for more information.