A new measles exposure site reported in Clackamas County on Aug. 19 comes days before Beaverton School District students return to class.

The Oregon Health Authority and Clackamas County officials announced that anyone in the Kaiser Permanente Sunnyside Medical Center emergency department waiting room at 10180 SE Sunnyside Road in Clackamas between 12:33 p.m. and 2:33 p.m. on Aug. 18, may have been exposed to measles, according to OregonLive.

The alert named Beaverton among Portland-metro communities with recent exposures.

Beaverton School District students in grades 6 and 9 return Tuesday, Aug. 25. All other grades start Wednesday, Aug. 26, according to the district calendar.

This is not the first time Beaverton has appeared on the state's exposure list.

Oregon has confirmed 45 measles cases in 2026, surpassing the previous recent peak of 31 cases in all of 2024.

The virus is spreading. Nearly all cases involved people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown, according to OregonLive.

More than one-third of Oregon K-12 schools with at least 10 enrolled students fall below the 93% to 95% MMR vaccination threshold needed for herd immunity.

What parents should do

The vaccine works. Two doses of the MMR vaccine are about 97% effective at preventing measles. Symptoms typically appear 7 to 21 days after exposure and start with fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes before a rash spreads from the face to the rest of the body.

The virus spreads through the air and can linger after an infected person leaves a space. Children younger than 5, pregnant people and those with weakened immune systems face the highest risk of complications including lung infections, brain swelling and death.

OHA advises anyone who thinks they were exposed to check vaccination records and watch for symptoms. Anyone who suspects they have measles should call their health care provider before visiting a clinic so staff can prevent further exposure.