With Indiana’s first case of the measles this year reported Tuesday near Fort Wayne, you might be wondering whether you’re fully protected.
Measles, a virus more contagious than the flu or COVID, can linger in the air for two hours. It was widespread in the United States before a vaccine was released in 1963. The vaccine was so effective that the disease was considered wiped out by 2000.
But measles is back, thanks to declining vaccination rates over unfounded conspiracy theories that the vaccine is harmful.
St. Joseph County Health Officer Dr. Michelle Migliore says she’s hearing more from middle-aged adults who are wondering whether they’re fully vaccinated. If you don’t still have documentation of your vaccination, you can have your doctor run a blood test for your immunity.
Migliore says measles isn’t something to take lightly.
"It can be life-threatening," she says. "Certainly young and healthy adults have already died from this disease in the United States this year. Measles tend to hit the respiratory system, especially in younger people. They end up on a ventilator when they're really ill."
Some adults do the test, called a TITER, and find out they are low on antibodies, likely because they never received the booster. If that happens, Migliore recommends getting it.
