# Should I get the MMR vaccine? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Created:** [December 22, 2024, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-the-mmr-vaccine/1012013 "2024-12-22T13:04:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2025, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-the-mmr-vaccine/1012013/81 "2025-10-03T10:14:23Z")
I saw a map on NBC of USA vaccination rates for MMR wherein Wyoming has the fewest vaccinations by county for virtually the whole state (no other state is like that). I know it’s only dorks like me who care about this crap. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2025, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-the-mmr-vaccine/1012013/82 "2025-10-19T11:25:17Z")
> [@Ellecram](#): > > > [@Aspenglow](#): > > > > I hope you don’t get it, but if you do, I hope it won’t go as badly as that. It’s less lethal than it was, but still lethal enough. I’m sorry you’ve endured it twice. > > Thank you. I am hoping I can avoid this round. Reading the thread backwards as a refresher, and this popped out at me-- it really does matter what strain you get, and whether you are vaccinated. Baruch HaShem, you never get it again, but just FYI, the only time I had it was when the dominant strain was omicron-- HIGHLY infectious, but also very mild; displaced the nasty, but not as infectious, delta strain. By experience was a sudden onset sore throat and dizziness that actually got a little better after 30 minutes or so, but I began to feel like I might have a fever. I went to be tested for COVID & strep (I work with little kids) and was positive for COVID. They tested me for flu as well (temp: 101.2), and that was negative. Felt way better after some Tylenol, and as it was Thursday, was back to work Monday, with the weekend spent lounging around and taking Tylenol & allergy meds, pushing fluids, and napping through TV reruns. I have had colds that were worse, honestly, other than the acute onset that made me dizzy, but that went away after an hour or so. I don’t know whether having had any strain before is a factor in how severe a subsequent infection is, but everyone I know who has had it recently has been vaccinated, and has not been very sick. Good thoughts to you. ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2026, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-the-mmr-vaccine/1012013/83 "2026-01-28T08:55:44Z")
I think the whole US population actually needs to read this thread. There was a report on NBC just now that South Carolina now has 789 cases, a fair sight more than Texas. Per the vaccine, I know it has some side effects because I remember having them as a kid. Yet families still need to be responsible for the other kids in their towns through getting vaccines. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2026, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-the-mmr-vaccine/1012013/84 "2026-01-28T12:01:14Z")
Asking oppositional selfish people to do something for others is a losing game. You’re mostly asking them to push back, not agree. The advantages of vaccination are almost entirely to the individual getting vaccinated. The herd immunity thing is a very nice bonus. But get vaxxed so _you_ don’t get (severely) sick. That appeal works on both the folks of generous spirit and the oppositional selfish adults who behave like children. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-the-mmr-vaccine/1012013/85 "2026-02-10T21:05:04Z")
How old are you? The modern MMR vaccine has few side effects, except for the brief immune reaction after the shot, the kind that makes babies fussy that evening. ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2026, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-the-mmr-vaccine/1012013/86 "2026-02-11T13:55:21Z")
I’m 49 years old and was mistaken about having side effects from the measles shot. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2026, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-the-mmr-vaccine/1012013/87 "2026-02-11T14:33:55Z")
Re not giving HPV vaccine to those over 45: The key arguments are 1) those older adults have likely already been exposed to HPV, and 2) immune response to HPV vaccination has been shown to drop off markedly with age. For instance, [this article](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12465035/) notes poorer effectiveness in those _over 21_, with significant drop-offs found in other studies. So it’s not a matter of concluding that older adults are monogamous or celibate and aren’t at risk.\* \*a group that might be at particular risk lives in The Villages, based on published reports and videos suggesting randy behavior is widespread among those retirees. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2026, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-the-mmr-vaccine/1012013/88 "2026-02-11T14:51:02Z")
My doc told me that there is some indication that the vaccine reduces the chance of cancer in older adults so he prescribed it to me. I had to pay out of pocket. It was three shots over a few months at $250 each. This was two years ago. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2026, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-the-mmr-vaccine/1012013/89 "2026-02-11T16:06:03Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > The key arguments are 1) those older adults have likely already been exposed to HPV, and 2) immune response to HPV vaccination has been shown to drop off markedly with age. A third is that cervical cancer develops slowly. My doctor told me that even if i caught HPV (and they test these days, so we both know i haven’t already been exposed) it’s extremely unlikely it would develop into cancer. He also gave me the first dose of the vaccine off label. I think it was basically a placebo due to my husband’s cancer diagnosis. I have to look into getting the rest of the series. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2026, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-the-mmr-vaccine/1012013/90 "2026-02-11T17:37:02Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > > [@Jackmannii](#): > > > > The key arguments are 1) those older adults have likely already been exposed to HPV, and 2) immune response to HPV vaccination has been shown to drop off markedly with age. > > A third is that cervical cancer develops slowly. True. The latency period between infection and development of invasive cancer commonly is one to several decades. But the time course is affected by things like declining immune status and other factors, such as smoking. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-the-mmr-vaccine/1012013/91 "2026-02-12T03:49:04Z")
If your doctor really gave you a placebo, they should have their licensed revoked. We don’t do that any more. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-the-mmr-vaccine/1012013/92 "2026-02-12T04:25:25Z")
I mean, i think he gave me the vaccine. But i think he gave it me as a placebo, not because he thought it would help me other than to make me feel better. Something positive i could do in light of the cancer diagnosis. Also, when my kids were little, i mixed up a bottle of water, corn syrup, and red food coloring, labeled it “placebo”, and put it with the medicines. When my kids were sick but didn’t have a fever, i gave them a spoonful of placebo instead of the Tylenol i have them when they had a fever. It always made them feel better. It was slightly embarrassing explaining it to an older child who asked what it was. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-get-the-mmr-vaccine/1012013.md?page=4)