Measles booster may be an option for some vaccinated adults

A deadly measles outbreak in Texas has put the issue of vaccinations back in the spotlight and raises questions about whether inoculated adults need a measles booster.

The answer? Maybe.

People who were vaccinated against measles as a child are considered less likely to become infected with the highly contagious respiratory illness. Vaccinated adults who face greater exposure to measles, such as some health care professionals, may consider getting a booster.

Also, potentially in the market for a booster are adults who were born after 1957 and were vaccinated before 1968. The latter year is when a new and improved vaccine — one that is still used today — went on the market. Because the previous vaccine is considered less effective, those who received it may also consider getting a measles booster today.

U.S. residents born before 1957 are believed to have natural immunity because most people got measles during childhood before vaccines were offered.

Measles had been considered eradicated in the U.S. by the year 2000. Subsequent outbreaks have been blamed on vaccine skepticism.

In the Texas outbreak, at least 124 people, mostly children, have become infected with measles, with 18 hospitalized. Most of the sick are unvaccinated or people whose vaccination status is not known, officials have said.

Health care officials in the Lone Star State also say the one fatality was a school-age child who was not vaccinated. It is the first measles-related death in the United States in a decade.

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