The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is working with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local partners to identify and notify those who may have been exposed, officials said.

“Measles is a highly contagious, airborne disease, which has increased significantly in the United States because of the unfortunate decrease in vaccination rates. It is also a preventable disease,” Public Health Commissioner Dr. Robbie Goldstein said in a statement. “This current situation serves as an important reminder of the critical role vaccination plays in protecting our communities.”

While Massachusetts has not had a measles case this year, the United States has seen the highest number of nationwide cases in more than a decade – nearly 2,000 in 44 jurisdictions, which included three confirmed deaths from measles, Goldstein said.

“Fifteen years ago, measles had been considered eliminated in the United States, but that tremendous progress is at risk,” Goldstein said. “Vaccines are one of the most important public health interventions ever – they are safe, effective, and lifesaving.”

Officials said the exposures may have occurred at Logan Airport Terminal B on Dec. 11 from 2:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.; at the DoubleTree hotel in Westborough from 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 11 to 9 p.m. on Dec. 12; and at Logan Airport Terminal C from 6 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 12.

“Those who could have been exposed and begin to develop symptoms of measles should call their healthcare provider before visiting an office, clinic, or emergency department,” public health officials said in the statement. “Visiting a healthcare facility may put others at risk and should be avoided if possible.”

Those who have had measles in the past or have received two doses of the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine are unlikely to develop measles even if they were exposed, officials said.

Boston Public Health Commissioner Dr. Bisola Ojikutu also encouraged people to get vaccinated for measles.

“With multiple measles outbreaks across the country and increased travel around the holidays, now is an important time to ensure that you and your family are protected,” she said.

Ojikutu said two doses of MMR vaccine are 97 percent effective at preventing measles and provide protection against mumps and rubella. Children should receive the vaccine at 12-15 months of age and again before kindergarten, she said.

Children who are at least 6 months old and traveling internationally or to areas of the US with active outbreaks should receive an early dose of vaccine before traveling, Ojikutu said.

“It is never too late for children or adults to get the measles vaccine even if they are past the recommended age,” Ojikutu said.

Early symptoms of measles occur one to three weeks after exposure and may resemble a cold, with symptoms fever, cough, runny nose, and red eyes. A rash occurs on the skin two to four days after the initial symptoms develop and usually appears first on the head, officials said.

People with measles may be contagious up to four days before the rash appears and for four days after the rash starts, officials said.

State public health officials are urging anyone who has not been vaccinated or doesn’t know their measles immunization status to contact their healthcare provider to get vaccinated with at least one dose of the MMR vaccine.

“Measles vaccine given within 72 hours of exposure may prevent measles disease,” officials said in the statement. “Vaccination beyond this window will provide protection from subsequent exposures.”

Emily Sweeney can be reached at emily.sweeney@globe.com. Follow her @emilysweeney and on Instagram @emilysweeney22.

Christmas tree farmers across Massachusetts had their own kind of Black Friday this year. On Nov. 28, Governor Maura Healey dubbed the day “Green Friday,” a push to kick off the holiday season while spotlighting the state’s Christmas tree and nursery industries.

While shoppers elsewhere woke before dawn to map out traffic-free routes, scour deals, and stack lawn chairs in car trunks to claim a place in line, farmers were already in the thick of a different kind of rush — one that had been years in the making.

The Christmas tree season, after all, begins long before the holidays arrive. For Meagan MacNeill, the new co-owner of River Wind Tree Farm in Lancaster, this year marked her very first season in the business. And as it turned out, she was unprepared, she said.

Customers began gathering at 9 a.m., an hour before opening, eager to flood the fields and begin their search for the perfect tree. It was all-hands on deck for the MacNeills; Meagan assembled both her immediate and extended family to help out.

The season began and closed in a flash. They sold out of cut-your-own trees the very next day, on Saturday, Nov. 29, and of pre-cut trees two weekends later.

The one word Meagan used to describe the season? “Insanity,” she said without missing a beat.

“I think it’s a new Olympic sport, getting the biggest and best Christmas tree,” she added with a laugh.

The challenges

The MacNeills are one of 459 Christmas tree farms across the state, which operate on nearly 3,000 acres of land and contribute more than $4.5 million to the local economy every year.

Like MacNeill, many farmers sold out of trees quicker this year than in years past (particularly since before the pandemic), according to David Morin, the communications liaison and former president of the Massachusetts Christmas Tree Association. He also owns Arrowhead Acres in Uxbridge, a Christmas tree farm and wedding venue.

Pre-pandemic, he was open for four weekends: Thanksgiving weekend, plus the three following it. He doubled his sales in 2020 during the pandemic. Now, he’s struggling to meet demand with a lower inventory.

“I was lucky to make it through two weekends. I actually shut down early on the second weekend because I didn’t have enough trees,” he said. 

It’s not just that individual farms are struggling to meet demand, but that the number of farms nationally are dwindling. Between 2002 and 2022, the number of farms growing Christmas trees fell by nearly 30%, down from more than 13,600 to about 10,000, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation, an agricultural organization.

Why are there fewer farms? Illan Kessler, who operates North Pole Xmas Trees, a wholesale grower in Colebrook, New Hampshire and choose-and-cut Noel’s Tree Farm in Litchfield, attributed the decline to farmers aging out of the industry. This, coupled with a lack of interest from the next generation to continue the business, means fewer farms.

“They get older, and then no one takes over, so there’s less and less tree farms,” he said.

It takes between seven and 10 years to grow a Christmas tree. Farmers are competing not just with national chains like Home Depot or Walmart — which “are super-influencers when it comes to price,” Kessler said — but also with artificial Christmas tree suppliers. 

“The artificial Christmas tree companies make so much revenue that they have a marketing budget that eclipses — at a magnitude of thousands-to-one — what real Christmas tree growers have to promote and market their own products,” Kessler added.

Prices of trees have gone up this year compared to last too, driven by inflation and tariffs along with a dwindling labor force and increasing costs of seedlings and machinery, Kessler and Morin said.

Morin likened being a Christmas tree farmer to a “love-hate” relationship. 

“The week after you’ve sold the trees, you’re in love with them. But for the other 11 months of the year, if it isn’t gypsy moths or caterpillars or one kind of a bug or another, or lack of rain or too much rain, it’s a constant hassle,” he said.

But despite it all, they wouldn’t give it up for the world.

“It’s like a Hallmark movie,” said Kessler. “We love selling Christmas trees, and we are super grateful to be in this business. I feel so blessed. I love what I do,” he added.

Joy to the world

Meagan and Steven MacNeill had dreamed of owning a Christmas tree farm in Vermont when they were newlyweds, but life got in the way. Before becoming farmers, Meagan worked as a school counselor, and Steven worked as a pharmacist — a job he still holds full time, she said.

“I knew, for me in particular, the traditional kind of 9-to-5 job didn’t feel right,” she said. She started working at a garden center and volunteering at an alpaca farm in Harvard on Sundays to satisfy the itch to be outdoors working in nature. Her husband later joined her at the alpaca farm, and it became their Sunday morning tradition for almost two years.

The couple bought River Wind Tree Farm in June from the Wareck family, fulfilling their two-decades-old dream to be Christmas tree farmers. 

But it wasn’t the fairy tale they had dreamed it to be. From learning to identify the farm’s many tree varieties — including exotic Christmas trees such as Nordmann fir, Korean balsam, and noble fir — to navigating drought and pest pressures, the experience was as much a challenge as it was a labor of love for the MacNeill family.

“The way the season looked was kind of a crapshoot because we had no idea what we were doing,” Meagan laughed. “It’s been a big learning curve for us. We still have a ton to learn.”

The MacNeills plan on adding alpacas to the farm next year, and are getting creative on keeping revenue flowing outside of the Christmas tree season by holding photoshoots at the farm.

Despite the arduous work, whirlwind season, years of preparation, and fierce competition, Meagan is grateful to be in the industry — and she’s not looking back.

For many Christmas tree farmers, herself included, the pull is hard to define. It’s rooted in community, tradition, and the simple joy of bringing people together for the holidays.

“It’s the joy of people coming to pick out their Christmas tree, and even having my family be a part of it,” Meagan said. “People coming out and just connecting to the land for a little while, or being with their family, and having these traditions that are not centered around electronics, but just being present. It’s so special.”