Here's what to know if you're unsure about your measles immunity status
Here's what to know if you're unsure about your measles immunity status
Measles is the most contagious disease known.
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is → know → status
It can rip through a population without immunity like wildfire.
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It → rip → wildfire
Just look at what's happening in Pennsylvania, says Patsy Stinchfield, executive director of the Measles Collaborative, a public health effort led by the National Infectious Diseases Foundation.
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Stinchfield → look → Foundation
"In January in Pennsylvania, they had 12 cases.
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they → have → cases
Now we're seeing 100 plus cases per week and over 1,000 cases in Pennsylvania," she says.
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she → see → Pennsylvania
"If Pennsylvania can see it spread that fast, that can happen in any state that has low immunization rates."
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that → see → rates
As vaccination rates have fallen across the country, many communities have become vulnerable.
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communities → fall → country
Nationwide, more than 4,000 measles cases have been reported this year alone — the highest number in 35 years.
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cases → report → years
Pennsylvania has reported five deaths.
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Pennsylvania → report → deaths
New York state declared a measles emergency.
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state → declare → emergency
Stinchfield says the recent measles surge has got many people wondering if they're at risk.
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they → say → risk
"It's a very common question for people to ask, 'am I immune? Am I OK? What do I need to do?' And that is exactly the right question everyone should be asking themselves right now," Stinchfield says.
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Stinchfield → ask → themselves
Two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is 97% effective — meaning 97% of people will have an immune response.
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% → mean → response
It's highly effective, and it confers lifelong immunity," says Dr. Adam Ratner, a pediatric infectious disease physician in New York City and author of Booster Shots, a history of measles.
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Ratner → confer → measles
But what if you don't know your immunization history, or you only got one dose of the measles shot?
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you → know → shot
Should you get another dose?
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you → get → dose
Infectious disease experts say that depends on several factors.
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that → say → factors
If you were born before 1957
People born before 1957 are presumed to be immune because back then, measles was so common, just about everyone got it in childhood, says Dr. Larry Kociolek, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and an associate professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
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Kociolek → bear → Medicine
"It was thought that pretty much everyone in the U.S. was infected with measles as sort of a rite of passage in childhood," Kocielek says.
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Kocielek → think → childhood
He says anyone who's ever had measles can be confident they're protected.
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they → say → measles
That is of course, if you survived.
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you → survive → course
Before vaccines, measles used to kill 400 to 500 people each year in the U.S.
If you were vaccinated before 1968
People who were born after 1957 and vaccinated before 1968 may need an additional dose.
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who → use → dose
That's because a small group of people who were immunized during that time received an early, less effective version of the vaccine that used inactivated or killed virus.
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that → immunize → virus
If you're not sure which vaccine you got, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends talking to your doctor about getting one or two doses of the MMR vaccine.
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Centers → get → vaccine
If you only got one dose of the MMR vaccine
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you → get → vaccine
At first, children in the U.S. received just one dose of the MMR vaccine.
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children → receive → vaccine
But that changed in 1989, after public health officials determined that a single dose wasn't enough to prevent outbreaks.
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dose → change → outbreaks
That year, the official recommendation switched to two doses of MMR vaccine for children, which is still in effect today.
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which → switch → effect
Kids need the higher protection "because they tend to be at higher risk of exposure, since they're oftentimes in group settings like schools and daycares," Kociolek says.
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Kociolek → need → schools
If you're in a higher-risk group
One dose of MMR vaccine is 93% effective, and traditionally, Kociolek says, that was considered enough protection for most adults, unless they were at higher risk of being exposed to measles.
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they → say → measles
Health care workers, people in a college setting and those travelling abroad are all in this group.
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workers → travel → group
If you live with or are in close contact with someone who is immunocompromised, you also need two doses of vaccine to protect them.
But given the recent, dramatic rise of measles across the country these days, "if you are living in areas with high measles activity, it does make a whole lot of sense for adults to go ahead and get that second dose," Kociolek says.
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Kociolek → live → dose
Ratner says it's definitely worth asking your doctor if you should get a second dose.
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you → say → dose
While measles is often considered to be a childhood disease, a large proportion of people sickened this year have been unvaccinated adults — and people over 20 who lack immunity are at higher risk of serious complications.
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who → consider → complications
No matter your age, "measles is a serious disease," Stinchfield says.
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Stinchfield → say → age
She notes that getting two doses of the vaccine can also help others at higher risk who can't get the MMR shot, including people who are pregnant, severely immunocompromised and infants under 6 months of age.
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who → note → age
If you really don't know your immunization history
If you're just not sure if you're protected against measles and you can't find records of immunization, you could get a test to check your blood antibody levels.
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you → know → levels
But those tests aren't perfect, says Dr. William Moss, a professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
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Moss → say → Health
"It's possible that a person could actually be protected and test negative on one of those," Moss says.
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Moss → protect → those
Depending on your circumstances, your insurance might not cover the blood test.
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insurance → depend → test
…and 3 more, not listed.
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