adult measles :: Article CreatorDo You Need A Measles Booster Shot? The Answer May Surprise You
Measles has been making an unwelcome comeback in the U.S. And world lately. Its resurgence might be enough to make many of us reasonably wonder: Just how protected am I from measles? And should I think about getting a booster vaccine shot?
It's important to emphasize that the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine is highly effective—providing 97% protection from measles with the standard two-shot series. Most Americans have and are still getting vaccinated with the MMR vaccine, thanks to routine childhood programs that were established nationwide starting in the 1980s.
These programs require children to receive several vaccines to attend public school, but families can obtain medical or personal exemptions depending on the state. As of the 2023-2024 school year, roughly 93% of school-age children in the U.S. Have received their MMR shots. That said, this percentage has slightly dipped in recent years and is now below the threshold of herd, or community, immunity needed to prevent the highly contagious virus from spreading widely in any given area. Hence the recent outbreaks.
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The current measles outbreaks in Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, now officially over 500 cases, are occurring almost entirely among pockets of unvaccinated people, and it's the unvaccinated who are much more vulnerable to measles, particularly very young children. But there are certain situations in which you might want or need a catch-up vaccination.
Walter Orenstein, a professor at the Emory University School of Medicine and former director of the U.S. Immunization program at CDC, notes that there were two types of measles vaccine that first became available in the U.S. In 1963.
One was a live, weakened virus vaccine—the same type used today, though later modified to be milder—and the other was an inactivated, or killed, measles virus vaccine. Unfortunately, the inactivated vaccine didn't provide lasting immunity and increased the risk of a severe form of measles, known as atypical measles, in people who later caught the virus naturally. It was pulled by 1967—but some people who got it are still around today.
"So if someone was vaccinated between 1963 and 1967 with this vaccine, or an unknown vaccine, it's reasonable to get another dose of the measles vaccine that's actually effective," Orenstein told Gizmodo. People who received this vaccine or are unsure of which vaccine they received during this time period are recommended to get at least one dose of the standard measles vaccine.
Practically everyone born before 1957 is likely to have contracted measles, which also provides long-lasting immunity, so they're generally fine. The Centers for Disease Control has said that healthcare personnel born before 1957 with no evidence of measles infection (either in their records or from lab tests) should consider the standard two-dose series.
It's also worth noting that Americans born between 1968 and 1989 received only one shot of the MMR vaccine. Even a single shot is highly effective—about 93%—so most people in this scenario are well protected. But the CDC does recommend that adults at higher risk for measles exposure get their second shot if they haven't already. These higher-risk groups include college students, healthcare personnel, people traveling internationally, and anyone else who's deemed to be at risk by public health officials, such as people living near active outbreaks.
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The nearly 100% protection provided by full MMR vaccination does still leave open some tiny room for vulnerability, of course. Sometimes, a fully vaccinated person, exposed to measles during an outbreak, will get sick. This might happen because the person's immune system didn't mount a full protective response at the time of vaccination, or because a person's immunity has waned over time.
Thankfully, waning immunity isn't a major individual concern. Studies have estimated that somewhere between 0.22% and 0.04% of the vaccine's effectiveness declines yearly. This means it would take between five and 25 years for the average person to be 1% less protected than they were right after their MMR shots.
If you are concerned about your susceptibility to measles, or you don't know your vaccination status, you can always talk to your primary care doctor. Your doctor might run a blood test to check for measles antibodies—or even proactively recommend an MMR dose. While no one likes a needle, the MMR vaccine is perfectly safe, so getting an extra shot is fine even if you might already be well-protected.
"One of the pluses, if someone happens to be already immune, is that nothing would happen because their bodies would kill the vaccine virus before anything can happen," Orenstein said.
Outside of a few corner situations, though, measles remains a more serious threat to the unvaccinated, including people who are too young or medically unable to get vaccinated, such as people with severely weakened immune systems. The best way to keep the virus contained, he notes, is to make sure everyone who can get vaccinated does.
"That's why it's so critical that we get very high immunization levels in our communities. Because for the measles virus to survive, it needs to be transmitted from an infectious person to a susceptible person. And if the infectious person only comes in contact with immune people, that chain of transmission is broken and indirectly protects people who can't be vaccinated because they have legitimate medical contradictions—they're all protected if they're not exposed," Orenstein said.
Children are recommended to get their first MMR shot between 12 and 15 months of age, and their second shot between 4 and 6 years of age, though children at risk of exposure during an outbreak or international travel may receive them earlier and/or an extra dose.
Measles is no joke—it's highly contagious and can be dangerous especially for kids and people who can't get vaccinated. If you're at risk, or uncertain about your status, you may want to talk to your doctor sooner rather than later.
Do Adults Need A Measles Booster? An Epidemiologist Explains Who Is Immune
The measles outbreak that started in Texas in late January continues to grow. As of March 27, 2025, confirmed cases across the United States reached 483, surpassing the total number of confirmed cases recorded in 2024. About 93 percent of the cases are associated with the outbreak, which now spans Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma.
WATCH: What's behind the growing measles outbreak and how the Trump administration is responding
The vast majority of cases are in people who are not vaccinated. Meanwhile, a lack of clarity from health authorities is leaving people with questions about whether they need to get revaccinated.
In a Q&A with The Conversation U.S., Daniel Pastula, a neurologist and medical epidemiologist from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and Colorado School of Public Health, explained how and when you should take action.
Should adults get another shot of the measles vaccine?
The measles vaccine, which first became available in the U.S. In 1963, contains a live but significantly weakened strain of the measles virus. This modified strain is too weak to cause measles, but it is similar enough to the wild type measles virus to train the immune system to recognize it. Most people who have received the live measles vaccine won't need an additional shot now, but here is what you need to know:
People born before 1957 are presumed to have lifelong immunity because measles was so contagious that almost everyone contracted it before age 15. Unless there are special circumstances, they probably don't need a vaccine now.
Most people born after 1957 would have received the shot as children, so they should be set for life. Physicians and public health experts don't recommend most people in this group get a second measles shot, though there are exceptions.
In 1989, a limited outbreak of measles occurred among vaccinated school children. In response, the recommendations changed from one dose of the live measles vaccine to two doses for children. People fully vaccinated as children after that year do not need any additional doses.
Graphic by Steff Staples/PBS News
Exceptions to these guidelines
There are two special circumstances where the previous recommendations may not hold.
First, if you were vaccinated between 1963 and 1967, one of the measles vaccines available at the time consisted of just proteins from the virus rather than a live, weakened version of it. Researchers soon realized this inactivated, or "killed," vaccine was less effective and didn't provide long-term immunity. Unless you know for certain you received the live vaccine, physicians and public health experts recommend that people vaccinated during those years get one dose of the live vaccine at some point.
Second, if you fall into a high-risk group – for example, if you are a health care provider, are traveling internationally or attending college, physicians and public health experts generally recommend getting a second dose if you have only had one.
Graphic by Steff Staples/PBS News
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. If you have questions or concerns about your situation, make sure to ask your health care provider.
Except in very rare circumstances, there is no recommendation for a third dose of the measles vaccine.
Can you find out whether you've been vaccinated?
You might be able to! It's worth checking. States actually keep vaccine records specifically for this reason, where you can look up your vaccine records or that of your kids. Your high school or college may still have your records, and so might your pediatrician's office.
Should you get your antibody levels checked?
For most people, probably not.
A titer test checks the level of antibodies in your blood, and some people are asking their doctor to check their titers to determine whether they are still immune to measles. The problem is, the level of antibodies in your blood does not necessarily reflect your level of immunity. That's because antibodies are just one part of your immune system's infection-fighting force. Having a low level of antibodies does not necessarily mean your immunity has waned.
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.
Graphic by Steff Staples/PBS News
One example of when an antibody test may be warranted is if you are a health care provider born before 1957 and you want to make sure you don't need another dose of the vaccine. You would use a test to see whether you have measles antibodies. But in this case you would be looking for a yes or no answer; the total amount of antibodies may not be very informative.
Is natural immunity better than vaccine-induced immunity?
Natural immunity – that is, the immunity you get after having measles – is effective. However, the downside is that natural infection with a wild virus is very risky. Before 1963, measles caused close to 50,000 hospitalizations and about 500 deaths each year in the United States, usually in children. It also caused over 1,000 cases of severe brain inflammation every year and carried several other long-term risks, such as permanent hearing loss or the wipe out of immunity to other diseases.
READ MORE: What to know about highly contagious measles and how to protect yourself
The point of vaccines is to create immunity without the risks of severe infection. It is basically a dress rehearsal for the real thing. The immunity from a vaccine is effectively the same immunity you get from having measles itself – but vastly safer than encountering the wild virus unprotected. One dose is 93 percent effective at preventing measles and two doses are 97 percent effective, and any breakthrough cases are likely to be much milder than a full-blown case of measles.
Can the vaccine cause measles?
No, the measles vaccine cannot cause measles because it contains a significantly weakened strain that has limited ability to infect and damage cells.
Some have claimed without evidence that the current outbreak in Texas was caused by the measles vaccine.
READ MORE: Measles cases are rising in the U.S. Here's why misinformation about the vaccine persists today
As part of the outbreak investigation, however, CDC and the Texas Department of State Health Services analyzed the genome of the virus causing the current outbreak and identified it as a wild measles virus. Researchers classify measles virus strains based on their genetic characteristics, or genotypes. They identified the outbreak virus as wild type genotype D8, and not the weakened measles vaccine strain, which is genotype A.
Measles vaccination has worked so well that many people today have never seen a measles case.
What are the risks of the vaccine?
That is a very reasonable question. Because the measles vaccine is a live, weakened virus strain, it can cause a mild, measles-like syndrome. For example, some people might have a slight fever, a rash, or some slight joint pain. These symptoms generally go away in a day or two, and most people don't experience them. But the vaccine cannot cause measles itself, as it does not contain the wild measles virus.
In extremely rare cases, people can experience more significant reactions to the measles vaccine. It is important to remember that every single medical or health intervention carries risks – and that includes all medications and over-the-counter supplements. According to all available evidence, however, comparing the potential benefits against potential risks reveals that the risks of a signficant reaction to the vaccine are much lower than the risks of severe outcomes from measles itself.
Being vaccinated not only protects you and your family, but it also protects vulnerable people in the community, such as infants, cancer patients and pregnant women, who cannot be vaccinated themselves.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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