Is Your Measles Shot Still Doing its Job?

by Jennifer Porter Gore

As a deadly outbreak in the Southwestern U.S. continues and cases pop up nationwide, it’s hard for people to know if their childhood vaccine still works.

As the number of measles cases stemming from an outbreak in the Southwestern U.S. continue to climb, the American Medical Association wants people to check their vaccination status, urging anyone who isn’t already protected against measles should get themselves and their families vaccinated. 

While the epicenter of the outbreak is in Texas and New Mexico, health officials from Alaska to Florida have reported 222 new measles infections to date — the highest number of cases since the country eradicated it 25 years ago. 

News of the outbreak has many people wondering if the combination measles, mumps, and rubella jab they received as children, known as the MMR vaccine, still has them covered into adulthood. Experts say even a single dose of the two-dose MMR vaccine schedule can offer extended protection against the disease.

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The urgency has increased in light of an unvaccinated child’s death at the end of February and a second measles-related death of an adult in New Mexico last week.

Although Texas and New Mexico have been the hotbed of the outbreak, cases also have been reported in Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, and Washington state, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

On Tuesday evening, Health Departments in Suffolk County, New York, Los Angeles County,  and Howard County, Maryland, reported measles cases in their jurisdictions. 

The cases in California and Maryland were linked to air travel: the infected persons had passed through Los Angeles International Airport and Dulles International Airport, respectively. In the Maryland case, anyone who visited the airport on March 5th and the Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center Pediatric Emergency Department on March 7th could have been exposed to the measles. 

In Los Angeles, passengers assigned to specific seats that may have been exposed on China Airlines flight CAL8/CI8 that arrived in Los Angeles on March 5 will be notified by local departments of health. Exposures also could have happened at several other L.A. locations. 

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“As many as 1 in 5 people infected with the virus need hospitalization.”

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The New York resident is reported to be an unvaccinated child. While measles is mostly recognized because of the extensive rash that comes with it, the disease is dangerous: experts say as many as 1 in 5 people infected with the virus need hospitalization;  Roughly one out of every 1,000 measles patients will develop brain swelling from encephalitis, and as many as three in 1,000 will die even though they received treatment. 

Measles symptoms usually include a high fever, red, watery eyes, a runny nose, and the persistent coughing and sneezing that make measles a highly contagious disease. 

“[I]f you have a room of 10 people who are unvaccinated, and you have them all standing around with a person with measles, nine of them will get measles,” Dr. Erica Kaufman West, the AMA’s director of infectious diseases said in a recently updated AMA news article, “What doctors wish patients knew about measles.” Substitute influenza in that scenario, she said, and “it might be [that] one person gets the flu. So, the attack rate of measles is quite high.”

When Should You Get the MMR Vaccine?

Pediatricians recommend children receive their first MMR vaccine between 12 and 15 months old, and their second between 4 and 6 years old. Most states require children to receive the vaccine before they begin kindergarten in public schools.

Anyone planning international travel should make sure they have received the measles vaccination at some point in their lives. Experts recommend earlier vaccination for infants traveling internationally. They say infants should receive the jab between 6 and 11 months old: one dose before travel and two more doses after their first birthday.

The vaccination is intended to last a lifetime.

“If you’ve had both of your vaccinations, you are 97% immune for life,” said Dr. Kate Land, a pediatrician in Vacaville, California. “If you have just one dose, you’re 93% [protected], and that is incredible protection.”

Even adults who have never had measles and aren’t vaccinated can be protected against the disease if they get a shot now. “One dose is typically enough,” Kaufman West said. “But depending on your medical history and what’s going on with you, it’s a good idea to talk to your physician and see if there would be any changes to that.”

How to Get Your Vaccination Record

Adults who want to make sure they were vaccinated as children but can’t find their vaccination record can get that information fairly easily.  

“There are a couple of options,” says Dr. Allison L. Hill of the American Pharmacists Association. 

“First, if the patient remembers where they received the vaccine, they should start there,” she said. Records of vaccines administered at pharmacies, she says, are accessible by the pharmacist, Hill says, and “if the vaccine was recent, the pharmacist may be able to reprint vaccination documents and send information electronically to the patient’s primary care provider.”

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Local health departments also can issue individual vaccination records upon request — particularly if that health department administered the vaccination.

“All states, territories, and some metropolitan cities have Immunization Information Systems, where health care providers report most vaccines,” Hill says. The patient’s physician or pharmacist may access the patient’s record via the IIS. Some states allow patients to access their records on the IIS. Patients should check with their state health department for access capabilities.”

Anyone who doesn’t have access to a primary care physician or other healthcare provider can go to a pharmacist to get an MMR vaccine. 

“Pharmacies that administer vaccinations publicize this information; some states may require a prescription from the patient’s primary care provider for the pharmacist to administer the MMR vaccine,” Hill says. “Individuals may ask their pharmacist if they are recommended to receive the MMR vaccine. The pharmacist will ask about the patient’s age, immunity status based on previous vaccination or infection, and health conditions.” The pharmacist will inform the patient of any additional requirements. People who need to locate a pharmacy that administers vaccines can visit the American Pharmacy Association’s vaccine access web page. Enter a ZIP code, and the closest pharmacy will pop up.

The post “Is Your Measles Shot Still Doing Its Job?” was originally published on Word In Black.