By Mia De Graaf Health Editor For Dailymail.com
Published: 22:28 GMT, 22 February 2019 | Updated: 22:29 GMT, 22 February 2019
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The measles outbreak has cost Washington state more than $1 million so far this year, state epidemiologists say.
The state's Department of Health has spent around $614,000 on staffing and supplies.
Clark County, the epicenter of the outbreak with 63 cases alone, has spent another $500,000.
Officials say that figure is expected to climb faster in the coming weeks as they fight to get more children vaccinated.
There is a spotlight on states with 'personal exemptions' permitted for vaccines as a measles outbreak spreads in Washington
'This is taxpayer money for something that could have been completely, utterly preventable in the first place,' Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County's public health director, told the Seattle Times.
More than one in 10 health department workers have been moved onto the measles effort, the Times reports.
In Clark County, almost half the staff (50 out of 110) are doing the same.
Dr Robert Jacobson, an infectious disease specialist at the Mayo Clinic, told DailyMail.com these logistical issues are part and parcel of a measles outbreak, but he fears the general public may not realize that.
'The disease is incredibly
