- Most people who had a measles shot do not need a booster; protection is considered lifelong.
- Measles outbreaks have swelled in U.S. to more than 650 cases, including three deaths.
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. now says that the measles vaccine is the best prevention.
You’ve received a measles vaccine, but the recent rash of U.S. cases — now swelled to more than 650 — makes you wonder if getting a booster is a good idea.
Probably not, unless you were vaccinated before 1968, when an older vaccine that’s not as effective was all that you could get.
That’s according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which suggests talking to your health care provider if that’s the case.
“For most adults without such risk factors, physicians and public health experts do not routinely recommend a second dose if you have previously received one dose of a live measles vaccine,” according to PBS.
And while some people are asking their doctor to do a blood test to see whether they have measles antibodies, it’s not really a definitive answer. What’s in your blood may not reflect your level of immunity. The human body has more tools in its arsenal than antibodies and a low level of those may not indicate your immunity has faded.
Per the article, “Other crucial elements of your immune response include B cells, T cells and other immune cells, but a titer test does not show their capabilities. For example, memory B cells might not currently be making antibodies against the virus but are primed to quickly do so the next time they see it. This is why antibody and titer tests should be used only in specific cases, in consultation with your doctor."
More definitive is checking your vaccination records, often available through your state.
Outbreaks and updates
CNN reported at least 659 measles cases in the U.S. this year, most of them in Texas.
As of April 3, the CDC was reporting 607 confirmed measles cases in 22 jurisdictions: Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, New York state, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Washington.
There are also outbreaks in Mexico and Canada. CBC in Canada reported that the Ontario outbreak is “so big even New York health officials are taking notice.”
In the U.S., three people — two children and an adult — have died. The adult, who lived in New Mexico, is considered a probable measles death. All of them were unvaccinated, health officials said.
Health officials are worried about the virus making it into urban communities where there’s more potential to expose people.
Per CNN, “Given the contagious nature of the virus and low vaccination rates in many pockets of the country, experts expect the outbreak to grow, possibly for more than a year. Continued spread of the virus for more than 12 months could threaten the measles elimination status the U.S. earned in 2000, according to the CDC."
The cases are also believed to be “vastly undercounted in this outbreak,” Dr. Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told CNN, noting the outbreak’s concentration among a Mennonite population that has not routinely embraced vaccines.
“There might be reticence to get tested in some of those areas, (which) probably means that this is a lot bigger than the outbreaks that we’ve seen in the past,” Adalja said.
Kennedy urges vaccination
Meanwhile, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, who has been an outspoken skeptic of measles vaccination, has recently said that getting the vaccine is the best way to avoid getting the illness.
“The federal government’s position, my position, is that people should get the measles vaccine, but the government should not be mandating those,” Kennedy said on CBS News Tuesday. “I always said during my campaign — and every part, every public statement I’ve made — I’m not gonna take people’s vaccines away from them. What I’m gonna do is make sure that we have good science so that people can make an informed choice.”
In announcing a second case of measles in Colorado, this one in an infant in Denver, health officials there urged people to check their vaccination status and “monitor for symptoms like fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and a rash that usually starts several days after exposure on the face and spreads,” Colorado Public Radio reported.