Biden Adds Measles To Quarantine Disease List After Afghan Refugee Outbreak – WISH-TV | Indianapolis News | Indiana weather

(CNN) – President Joe Biden on Friday signed an executive order adding measles to the list of quarantine diseases about a week after several Afghan refugees who had recently arrived in the United States tested positive for the disease, resulting in a hiatus in refugee flights to the United States.

Afghan flights, many of which are operated by commercial carriers, arrive in the United States from military bases in Germany and Qatar.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked questions of the National Security Council, which said: “The Executive Order adds measles to the list of diseases that (the Department of Health and Human Services) and the CDC have the power to issue federal quarantine orders for, requiring that people diagnosed with measles or exposed to measles self-isolate to protect public health.

“This step was taken at the request of public health officials, who cited measles cases among Afghans recently arrived in the United States as well as several measles outbreaks in recent years.”

Measles is a highly contagious virus that can cause serious health complications. It was declared wiped out in the United States in 2000. However, travelers continued to introduce the virus into the United States, leading to local spread and epidemics among unvaccinated people.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said last week that anyone who contracted measles has been quarantined and arriving Afghans must be vaccinated against measles to enter the country. Measles, mumps and rubella vaccine given to Afghans at military facilities in the United States

The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is currently being given to Afghans at military facilities in the United States, Psaki said. She added that the administration was exploring measures to vaccinate people in places overseas.

Individuals are also offered COVID-19 vaccines and tests for the virus.

The Biden administration continues to question how it will control and safely resettle the thousands of people who fled the Taliban as they took control of Afghanistan this summer.

The Inspector General of the Ministry of Defense is currently assessing the military process of screening and tracking Afghan evacuees this month, including those identified as posing a security risk.

The Pentagon last month also recognized unsanitary conditions at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar – the base where the US military temporarily stationed thousands of evacuees from Afghanistan.