My Adventures in Measles Immunity Testing.
Things you should probably know right now to stay healthy. Today, actually. Today is good.
First, the Brief and Hopefully Semi-Interesting Backstory
You might have caught the news last week that while most adults in the U.S. are vaccinated against measles, mumps, and rubella and therefore immune (and thanks for caring about yourself and others, vaccinated friends!), there was a stretch of vaccines given in the 1960s that were iffy.
Lots of inactivated (weaker) vaccines were given during this stretch, until they weren’t.
This is not because medical science is bad, but because good medical science requires continual research so protocols can evolve and get even better with time.
See also: Bloodletting, End of Use of.
See also: Not defunding medical research because what the hell.
Overlapping with this period, from 1963 to 1989, a single, weaker dose of the MMR was given to some people, which also conferred less immunity than a double-dose, particularly for mumps.
After 1989, you and your children would have been given the highly effective, well-researched, and extremely safe two-dose MMR vaccine.
So how do you know which vaccine you were given between 1963 and 1989?
You probably don’t!
While I fall outside the range of inactivated vaccine doses, I thought it would be worthwhile to have my MMR immunity tested.
Seeing as how measles are back and all.
(We’ll get to that in a sec.)
I, for one, would rather not die of a preventable and highly contagious disease.
I also have pretty strong opinions about not inadvertently passing a preventable and highly contagious disease to the young children and pregnant women in my neighborhood who are most susceptible its worst effects.
What I Did About It: Some Helpful Details
You may want to call your doctor about testing. Some people suggest just skipping straight to the booster, since it’s so safe and readily available at pharmacies, clinics, and local health departments.
As for me, I went to the Quest Diagnostics app, and made a quick appointment to have blood drawn at a lab near me for immunity testing. There were plenty of appointment slots available.
Should you not be going through insurance, Quest provides a “good-faith out-of-pocket” estimate of $148.
I didn’t have to fast the night before or skip milk in my coffee or anything. I just showed up for a 9:20 A.M. appointment at a Brooklyn lab, got a quick blood draw, and was headed back down the elevator by 9:24.
Just past midnight, I got my results.
This weekend, I have an appointment at CVS to get my MMR booster, along with an overdue TDAP for good measure.
I do want to say I am not mad in the least that my immunity to mumps and measles has decreased.
I am mad that even as we are living in an extraordinary era of scientific progress, we now have to worry about a growing disease outbreak that our parents and grandparents were so relieved we would never have to worry about again.
Contagion
If you were even mildly pissed about low-rise jeans and 80s linebacker shoulders making a comeback, you should be enraged about the return of Measles.
It was deemed entirely eradicated in the US in 2000 and now…it’s not. All thanks to the unwavering support of science deniers, anti-vaccine propagandists, essential oil hawkers, and the “I did my own research on YouTube” crowd — some of whom are in now charge of America’s health systems, Goddess help us.
There are currently over 300 cases of the most contagious human-to-human disease, across more than a dozen U.S. states, with at least two confirmed deaths of unvaccinated people.
So far.
Three cases have been identified in NYC where I live.
The number is going to keep growing and according to CHOP virologist and candidate for non-denominational sainthood, Paul Offit, “could get to thousands and thousands of cases.”
The math holds up. According to the nonprofit National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, up to 90% of people who lack immunity will contract measles when exposed.
Vaccines save lives.
Friends, I can’t stop hearing Trump’s 2020 loopy quote about Covid in my head: “If you don’t test, you don’t have any cases.”
It might be a smart idea to get tested for MMR immunity (or just go ahead and get the booster) before anyone can write any executive orders to halt disease tracking, ban immunity testing, or threaten insurance companies who deign to cover the charges.
(Oh, and as I was about to publish this, lookie here at this breaking news on NPR. Sigh.)
“Do Your Own Research”
I’m not an anomaly. My results are not special. My Instagram community shared a lot of similar stories.
And since we know that “my friend on social media said…” is not a reliable source of accurate data — even if they’re my friends, who are always 100% reliable — here’s a little more reading about the safety and effectiveness of the measles vaccine. Should you want to read more. Or share some facts.
These are trusted journalists, infectious disease experts, and medical medical-science based organizations whose only goal is to keep us healthy and safe.
- The CDC (Last updated 1/17/25)
- The WHO
- Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
- National Foundation for Infectious Diseases
- UK National Health Service
- Measles & Rubella Partnership (Unicef, Red Cross, WHO, CDC, UN Foundation, etc)
- KFF Health News (an ad-free nonprofit)
- BBC News report
- The Dallas Morning News report
Let’s keep taking good care of ourselves, our families, and our communities. Let’s keep looking out for each other.
As with you, I was born in the changing vax era and as a Health Care Worker did not hesitate to get a booster. Could NOT have been easier to make CVS appointment and more good news! Its sub cutaneous (under the skin) so no pain during or after, no side effects. What could be easier!! Just Do It. (Cribbed from another campaign of our era)
Thank you for this post. My husband and I are 72 and 73 and he has an autoimmune disorder and early Parkinson's. We will either get tested first or go straight to the vaccines. More people need to know about this.