Adults advised to get vaccinated again in US measles outbreak
Up to 10% of cases in the current wave of the disease are in people already vaccinated, as questions are raised about adult immunity
New York — Adults in the US who were vaccinated against measles decades ago may need a new dose depending on when they received the shot and their exposure risk, according to public health experts battling the country’s largest outbreak since the virus was deemed eliminated in 2000. Up to 10% of the 695 confirmed measles cases in the current outbreak occurred in people who received one or two doses of the vaccine, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The figure illustrates what can happen when a large number of individuals, even those who have been vaccinated, are exposed to the measles. CDC recommends that people who are living in or travelling to outbreak areas should check their vaccination status and consider getting a new dose. Dr Allison Bartlett, an infectious disease expert at the University of Chicago Medicine, said the “continued vulnerability to infection” is why high-risk adults such as healthcare workers are routinely advised to get a s...
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