Cases of measles are going up around the U.S., with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reporting almost 500 confirmed cases across the country in late March (and likely more that are unconfirmed). That's 200 more cases than were reported in December.
Measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000.
Many adults who were vaccinated years ago are now wondering if they still have immunity.
Public health leaders strongly recommend that babies over one-year-old get the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine. And they say most adults who received the vaccine as children — or had measles before the vaccine was introduced in 1963 — should be protected.
But there are exceptions.
Medical experts say there was a period in the late 1960s when many people got a less effective version of the vaccine and immunity may have waned.
Amber Black of Easthampton, Massachusetts, is from that group. She got a blood test that determined she had no immunity to measles.
"I can't know at this point whether I just didn't have the vaccine as a child or whether I still had the older version. It's unclear," she said.
Since Black is planning a trip to Texas, where there’s been a recent measles outbreak, she decided to get re-vaccinated, in part to protect others who can't get the vaccine for medical reasons.
"I'm really saddened and disturbed that a virus that should be and could be non-existent in our country is creeping back," she said.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health said the most recent case of measles in the state was July 2024. The CDC says there is no need to actively screen people for immunity where there's no measles outbreak.
Epidemiologists say there’s no harm in getting an additional vaccine dose for those without any medical contra-indications.
While you can get tested for immunity levels, some insurance companies will only pay for a new vaccine and not the immunity test.
