Had a doc appt (just my yearly checkup) a couple days ago and I asked her about checking to see if my measles vaccine from when I was a kid was still good, since Iâd heard it could lose effectiveness over time. She nodded and had a lab done and turned out I was NOT still immune to measles, so got my booster today.
Get your vaccines, folks!
âI have a question about a vaccine,â I say, and the look of âgod fuckin dammnit not againâ that flashed across this poor doctorâs face, followed by abject relief when I said âIâve heard that the measles vaccine can lose effectiveness over time and Iâd like to make sure mine is still good.â says everything really.Â
âOh thank god,â she literally said. âYes of course. Thatâs true, and we can do a blood test and see. If you donât still have antibodies we can get you a booster scheduled.âÂ
âThat question goes poorly a lot, doesnât it,â I say.Â
âYou have no idea.â
Note: In some cases, you may not even need to do the blood test in order to get the measles booster. I walked into my local CVS pharmacy and said, âI was born in [YEAR] and I have no idea whether I got the single-shot or two-shot series. My coworkers keep having babies, tho. Can I have the measles booster?â
And the pharmacist said, âYES YOU MAY, THAT WILL BE ZERO DOLLARS AND THANK YOUâ
More info here:Â https://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/faqs.html
âIf youâre unsure whether youâre immune to measles, you should first try to find your vaccination records or documentation of measles immunity. If you do not have written documentation of measles immunity, you should get vaccinated with measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. There is no harm in getting another dose of MMR vaccine if you may already be immune to measles (or mumps or rubella).â
(p.s. Please also get your tetanus booster every 10 years, it also contains the whooping cough vaccine so if you are ever in the vicinity of babies, please make sure your Tdap is up to date)
(p.s.s. Iâm sorry, Iâm a public health professional, I canât help it)
When my doctor sister was pregnant, she was like âYaâll have to get your MMR and Tdap boosters before hanging out with my baby, non-negotiableâ and I couldnât agree more. Get a tiny needle stick, and prevent some babies from getting seriously ill or dead, ffs.
Even if youâve been getting your booster shots, take a moment to make sure it was the TDAP and not just tetanus! For a while there, people were getting tetanus boosters with no pertussis (whooping cough). My hometownâs had several outbreaks of whooping cough in the past six months.






















