Maryland is well protected from measles, mumps and rubella, despite some declines in vaccination rates compared to the beginning of the pandemic.

The data comes from a new study from Johns Hopkins University that shows a 2.7% decrease in vaccination rates for the diseases across 33 states.

The decreases bring the average vaccination rate from about 94% to about 91.3%, raising concerns about the potential for outbreaks.

“Measles is very infectious and requires what’s called a herd immunity threshold of around 95%,” said Lauren Gardner, director of Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering. “That means you want about 95% of a population to be protected through vaccination to prevent outbreaks of measles happening in that location.”

The study looks at vaccination rates by county. All of Maryland’s counties hit the 95% threshold. However, that was not the case in many jurisdictions across the nation.

Gardner said some counties’ rates dropped as much as 15% since before the pandemic.

“Hawaii had coverage that was pretty good, hovering around 95%,” Gardner said. “The average rate after COVID, is hovering closer to 80% which is obviously far below the herd immunity threshold that we would want.”

This year several cases of measles have been reported in Maryland. All of those incidents were due to residents traveling internationally.

However, places like Texas have seen large outbreaks. The total U.S. count for measles this year is over a thousand cases.

A surgical procedure called lateral extra-articular tenodesis (LET) boosts the recovery for patients suffering from anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction.

LET is often performed at the same time as ACL repair, and it gives athletes added stability by reinforcing the outer side of the knee, which enhances stability.

How does LET work?

Doctors take a strip of tissue from the outer thigh and thread it through the knee in a way that limits unwanted twisting. This helps protect the new ACL as it heals.

“You take a strip that’s about eight centimeters long, pass it under the lateral ligament, then fix it back with a screw or staple,” said Mercy Medical Center orthopedic surgeon Dr. Mark Slabaugh.

Dr. Slabaugh said when he first started offering LET two years ago, only 10% of patients were getting it. Now, nearly half of his ACL surgeries include the added step.

While not for everyone, LET is showing strong results in young athletes who play sports that involve cutting, jumping, and fast changes in direction, including track, soccer, and basketball. 

Doctors say LET leads to fewer reinjuries and more athletes getting back to their sport at a high level.

“It’s not just about the surgery,” Dr. Slabaugh said. “It takes motivation and discipline. If someone’s not willing to do the work, we don’t recommend it.”

ACL surgery “is not a death sentence.”

Track and field athlete Norah O’Malley, who competes at Denison University in Ohio, tore her ACL nearly a year ago. The Baltimore County native didn’t know if that meant the end of her college athletic career.

She opted for the added LET procedure, and now she is back running.

“I didn’t expect to compete until a year after surgery,” O’Malley said. “But I ended up sprinting just eight months later.”

O’Malley was cleared to run again just five months after her surgery.

O’Malley was ready. Just five months after her surgery, she was cleared to run again. The typical timeline is six to 12 months for a full return to sports.

“I was expecting it to be really painful,” O’Malley said. “But I could get up and move around. The only difference now is the scar.”

For O’Malley, what started as a major setback became a powerful comeback.

Though it may sound intimidating, Dr. Slabaugh reminds athletes that an ACL tear does not have to be a career-ender.

“This is not a death sentence,” Dr. Slabaugh said. “They can get back to the sports they love, and a lot of times they don’t have that understanding.”

For now, O’Malley is focused on finishing strong and trusting her knee again.

A Maryland man convicted of murdering his pregnant girlfriend, their unborn child and a convenience store clerk likely will spend the rest of his life in prison.

It’s the first time someone in Montgomery County has been convicted of killing a viable fetus.

The disturbing case began with a violent killing of a 61-year-old employee at a Maryland convenience store in December 2022. Ayalew Wondimu died after Moore shot him several times, police said.

Torrey Moore, now 34 but 31 at the time of the crime, was charged in that shooting, and a SWAT team was sent to search Moore’s apartment across the street hours later.

During the investigation, authorities made a horrifying discovery: the body of 26-year-old Denise Middleton, a pregnant woman, decomposing under a blanket.

Moore and Middleton were in a relationship, and Middleton was eight-and-a-half months pregnant. Family said she had named the unborn baby Ezekiel.

“The child turned out to be the defendant’s child,” Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said on Friday, adding that Moore had a history of domestic violence.

Video evidence showed Moore grabbing Middleton in the lobby of the building and pushing her toward the elevator.

Prosecutors said that Moore then shot Middleton inside the apartment they shared in White Oak, and left her there for almost two months, prosecutors said.

“The story is awful,” McCarthy said in November. “There is no way to slice it. This is a terrible case.”

After shooting her, Moore left Middleton on the floor of their apartment while he traveled to North Carolina and California, prosecutors told the jury. Along the way, he searched Google on his phone and other devices for how to cover up the crime and hide the body, prosecutors said.

According to the McCarthy, Moore used the same gun in all of the murders.

Moore was convicted of three counts of first degree murder, and received a sentence of life for each of the three murders. He will also serve an 80-year concurrent sentence for a long list of other charges, McCarthy said.

Moore stayed quiet during the sentencing, offering no explanation for the violent crimes.

“I’d really like to hear why,” said Dennis Middleton, Denise’s father, at a press conference held after Moore was sentenced.