I was born in 1966, and my parents made sure I had all the vaccines available back then. I have always assumed I was “fully vaxxed.”
But this article throws some doubt on that, related to Measles. And I don’t have any records to show exactly what shot I took and when.
With the rise of the anti-vaxxers, all of the sudden, I’m thinking of getting an MMR shot, just to be sure. I don’t want get swept into any new outbreak, because I took a vaccine that didn’t work way back when.
You should ask your doctor, just in case there is some reason why the MMR vaccine isn’t appropriate for you, but I have strived to be fully vaccinated my entire life and have never regretted it.
Born in '67. Now you’ve got me concerned. Although, reading the article, sounds like the inactive vaccine was discontinued by the time I was born (late '67) and I don’t think I got vaccinated for a few years since I had mumps as a baby…
A few years ago, there was a measles outbreak in Vancouver, Washington and Portland, Oregon. We were due to travel there right at that time, and Mr. brown was uneasy. He couldn’t remember if he had ever been vaccinated against measles, and we knew that his mom was doctor-avoidant when he was a kid. He was born in 1951.
I was pretty sure I had been vaccinated in the early 60s, but with both parents dead and no records to be found, I wasn’t 100% sure. I was born in 1956.
So we both got the MMR vaccine about four weeks before flying to Portland.
I asked my doctor about this vaccine a couple years ago and he said I did not need it but i am going to check with my new doctor.
I had all of these diseases as a child in the early 1960s plus I am pretty sure I received another dose of every vaccine available when I was in the Navy in the early 1980s.
I had an MMR booster, I guess, when I was in my 20s as part of the medical response to a positive TB tine test. I may have had another at some point. It’s hard to track all my vaxxes despite claims about how electronic health records are useful and complete.
I have been reading a lot about this I was born in 1963 and my sister in 1965. My mom was scrupulous about getting us all of the vaccines. I have a vague memory of getting a booster in the 1970s but that could have been for something else.
Apparently you can measure something called titers to show how much immunity you have in a blood test.
I am scheduled to have my annual physical in April. Rather than wait, I called the office and asked if I should get the jab. The nurse called me back and to my surprise said that the doctor didn’t recommend it. I’ll ask him about it personally next month and ask to get the titer test for MMR with my regular blood work.
I was chatting with my Mom about this and she said that she got the measles in the late 50s when she first started teaching grade school and that before the vax pretty much everyone got it similar to chickenpox. Also like chickenpox it was way worse to get it as an adult. She was bedridden for a week and it was like having a bad flu. It was miserable but not life threatening for most people but there could be very bad effects.
So, I asked my doctor for myself and my brother. He said we should get the Titer test, and then a booster only if we had showed not having immunity. We both came in to get an MMR titer test within a day of contacting the doctor, as it doesn’t require a doctor’s appointment but only the lab folks who draw the blood. Within one day of the Titer Test, results from the lab for both of us came back positive for immunity to each of the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella.
So, we don’t need any boosters.
If you had Mumps, then you should have immunity to it. You might want to get the Titer test, since 1967 is in that year range. It’s not a fasting lab, so they can test you at any point in the day, and you get results back quick.
An article in Unbiased Science talks about the Texas measles outbreak demonstrating that long-lasting immunity from vaccination may be even better than previously found.
It also emphasizes the importance of memory B cells and T cells, which antibody titer tests do not measure. So protection against measles in the vaccinated is likely just fine no matter what titer tests show.
I was born in the late ‘60s. I probably got the measles vaccine when I was a baby, but those records were lost in a move. So when I moved to a new school system in 10th grade, I was required to get a single MMR vaccine to attend school.
The CDC says that adults who travel internationally and don’t have records indicating that they have received two MMR vaccines (or a blood titer indicating that they have immunity) should get another MMR shot.
With the current outbreak, I didn’t bother with a titer, especially since the CDC says there no harm in getting another MMR vaccine. So that’s exactly what I did a few weeks ago. There were no side effects whatsoever.
Not about the MMR vaccine specifically, but just in general I think we’re tending to be a more paranoid society about vaccines, largely because of the ridiculous anti-vax movement during COVID.
Of course I ignored the ridiculous paranoia and got all my COVID shots and boosters. But the insidious idea of “side effects” still stuck in my brain when I saw my doctor last month on an unrelated issue but showed her some bad abrasions I had got on my lower leg. Among other things she suggested a tetanus shot, as according to my records I had not had one in over ten years.
She seemed surprised when I asked if it was really necessary and what the side effects were. Geez, maybe I was having a “senior moment” but I was kinda embarrassed about asking the question. But I got the tetanus shot, and I’ll tell you what the side effects were, and they were the following:
She put a bandage on the injection site that I eventually had to rip off. That sucker would not fall off by itself!
As we get older, “ripping” off bandages becomes a less-good idea. Might take a patch of crepey skin (and fur!) with it.
Far smarter to peel gently using soap & hot water, or isopropyl, to weaken the adhesive as you go. That quick yank to get the pain over with quickly is for children.
IMO, asking “is there a down side” and “is there anything I should be on the look out for if I do this” are both still valid questions to ask your doctor.
