Measles cases are at a 25 year high in Europe, while North America and Afghanistan are also dealing with major outbreaks and children dying from the preventable disease.
Over 127 000 cases were reported across the World Health Organization (WHO) European region last year, the highest number since 1997 (216 000), according to a joint analysis by Unicef and WHO. Measles cases reached a low of 4440 in 2016 but have been on the rise since.1
More than half of measles cases reported required hospital admission, and a total of 38 deaths have been recorded. Children aged under 5 accounted for more than 40% of all cases. Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, said, “Measles is back, and it’s a wake-up call. Without high vaccination rates, there is no health security. Every country must step up efforts to reach under-vaccinated communities. The measles virus …
“Fun” story, I got my MMR 3x as a kid and another 3x as an adult because my antibody titers were and remain undetectable (i’m not immunocompromised on any level). With the current events I really hope my T-cells are ready for the heavy lifting 😅
Of course, according to RFK Genius, I’d need lower doses not higher because “race”.
Ok, I just asked this further but as an adult should I be seeking boosters? If I live in a deeply red state, will my doctor balk at the request?
You can request your titers to be checked (pretty routine) and if they are low/undetectable you can get a booster. That’s what they do for healthcare workers (at least in the 3 states I practiced in).
Ty when I make the request do I need to be specific about which diseases I’m concerned about or is it going to automatically cover everything?
It’s disease specific so you should ask for measles antibody titers. Again, it’s a pretty reasonable request, especially if you have risk factors.