Separating Fact from Fiction: The Truth about Measles, Vaccines and How It All Affects You

Anyone who received the measles vaccine prior to 1968 should be immunized again, as vaccines during that period could not fully protect an individual.

  The MMR vaccine covers mumps and rubella, too. Are outbreaks of these next?

If a person with measles sneezed in a room, then left, and you walked in an hour later with no vaccination or immunity, you'd likely catch the virus. In a population of totally unimmunized people, every individual with measles would pass it on to roughly 12 to 18 people. That's pretty darn infectious. Mumps and rubella aren't quite so contagious; the Centers for Disease Control compares them to influenza on the contagion scale. Both diseases are spread through droplets in the air like measles, but either the virus doesn't stick around as long or it's not as effective at causing disease once inside the human body.

 A massive study shows there’s no connection between measles vaccinations and autism

There was no increased risk for autism among children who had received the vaccination, the researchers found. The kids who’d gotten the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination appeared 7 percent less likely to be linked with autism than the children who weren’t vaccinated. Children with zero childhood vaccinations were 17 percent more likely to be linked with autism. However, as previous studies have shown, that might be because parents are less likely to vaccinate their kids after they start showing symptoms of autism. That’s put autistic kids at greater risk for contracting vaccine-preventable diseases like measles.

 Born In The 1960s? The CDC Says You May Need A Measles Shot Before Traveling

Some adults who received the measles vaccine between 1963 and 1967 may not be protected from the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That's because when the measles vaccine first became available, in 1963, there were two versions and only one was effective. The first version of the early vaccine was inactivated, also known as "killed" measles vaccine.

 How Misinfodemics Spread Disease

Researchers are finding more and more that online misinformation fuels the spread of diseases such as tooth decay, Ebola, and measles.

 Measles Outbreaks Show Why Anti Vaxxers Made WHO's 10 Global Health Threats

Look at what made the World Health Organization's (WHO's) just-released list of "10 threats to global health in 2019." Right alongside the Ebola virus, HIV, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, pollution, and non-communicable diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease is "vaccine hesitancy." That's right, one of the biggest threats is not a disease, not the lack of a prevention measure or a treatment, and not the lack of resources.

 Measles: should vaccinations be compulsory?

With measles rising across America and Europe, should governments go further and make vaccination compulsory? Most would argue that this is a terrible infringement of human rights, but there are precedents.

 Meet The Forgotten Scientist Who Invented The Measles Vaccine

Jonas Salk gained worldwide fame for his polio vaccine; Louis Pasteur is remembered, among other things, for developing a vaccine against rabies, and Edward Jenner's name is forever connected to vaccination against smallpox. But history barely remembers the microbiologist who, arguably, saved more lives than any other doctor or medical researcher of the 20th century (and who continues to save millions every year despite having been dead since 2005). His name is Maurice R. Hilleman...

 The myth linking vaccines to autism gets debunked by the largest study to date on the subject

The Danish researchers designed a nationwide study that included 657,461 children born between January 1999 and December 2010. Over the course of a decade, the subjects participated in follow-up exams. Of those children—not all of whom were vaccinated—6,517 went on to develop autism. The scientists analyzed those data, and concluded that the relative risk of developing autism after being administered an MMR vaccine was 0.93—statistically non-existent.

 Yes, Some Adults Do Need to Be Revaccinated Against Measles

So who needs another shot? Measles vaccines became available in 1963. If you got the standard two doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine after 1967, you should be protected against the measles for life.

Henrietta Lacks Wasn’t the Only Woman Who Unknowingly Contributed to Medical History

The untold story of the aborted fetus that helped create the rubella vaccine.

Most Americans Think the Benefits of the MMR Vaccine Outweigh Risks

Some groups still have concerns, however, according to a new study from the Pew Research Center.

Remembering The Pre-Vaccine Era: The Diseases of Childhood

In high school, I caught rubella and wasn’t sick, just covered with red dots. It was the last day of the school year and I wanted to get stuff from my locker. On my way out, I stopped to say goodbye to my favorite English teacher. I told her I had German measles, thinking it was a sort of joke, and she just shrank away from me and whispered, “I’m pregnant!” I rushed out of the room....

Anti-Vaccine Movement Causes Worst Measles Epidemic In 20 Years

Perhaps the Disneyland epidemic, which has now spread to 14 states, will finally convince parents, schools, and state legislatures that they need to insist that children get vaccinated before going to school. Perhaps it will also convince parents to stop listening to nonsense, and choose wisely by getting their children vaccinated against measles. We won this battle before, and we can win it again.

Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine Not Linked to Autism, Large Study Concludes

A study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association has found no link between the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism, even in children considered to have an elevated risk of developing the disorder.

New Measles Study Shows Why Anti-Vaccination Thinking Is Deadly

New research on fatal measles complications shows how the failure to vaccinate endangers not only the patient, but also everyone else susceptible to the disease.

No, Harvard's Mumps Outbreak Doesn't Mean Vaccines Are Bunk

News of an outbreak of mumps, which infects salivary glands, has drawn antivaxxers like moths to a swollen red flame. They’ve seized on the fact that students sickened in Harvard’s outbreak were all vaccinated—supposed evidence that vaccines are full of lies. It’s true the mumps vaccine isn’t the most effective, but that’s established fact, not a scandal.

Not Sure If You Got the Measles Vaccine? Here's What to Do

Forty-three percent of the California residents currently fending off the disease didn’t know if they had the MMR shot or not.

Ready or Not: Responding to Measles in the Postelimination Era

As measles incidence increases, clinicians have a vital role to play. We need to talk to our patients about measles vaccination and remind them what is at stake if imported measles cases continue to land in communities of unvaccinated persons, especially for those who are too young or ineligible to be vaccinated.

Study Of 95,727 Kids Re-Confirms That MMR Vaccine Not Linked To Autism

Among nearly 100,000 children, receipt of the MMR vaccine did not increase the risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), regardless of whether kids were at higher risk because an older sibling already had the condition, researchers write in JAMA.

The real vaccine scandal

It’s not just the anti-vaxxers—Canada’s vaccination system is a mess. How governments and parents are failing our kids.

Traveling Abroad? Born Before 1989? You May Need a New Measles Vaccination

The wildly contagious virus is still alive and well in Europe, Africa, and Asia—if you’re going there, you might need better protection.

What's behind the 2016 Mumps Spike in the U.S.?

You could be forgiven if you thought mumps was no longer a problem in the U.S. That’s because for the past few decades, thanks to widespread use of a vaccine against this contagious virus, it wasn’t.

Why Mumps And Measles Can Spread Even When We're Vaccinated

Measles is a terrific vaccine. If you get two doses, it's predicted to protect 99.99 percent of people for life... The mumps vaccine, on the other hand, is not so good. The protection rate varies from study to study. But it's usually in the mid-80s.