Measles Vaccination Check in Future?

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Just an FYI:
Not everyone who is vaccinated will show it with the titers test.

It has to do with t-cell vs. b-cell responses. Some people can be vaccinated a dozen times, and it will not show on a titers test.

 

[cvjw]

As a single-shot? I'm not aware of a combination "MMR + Tetanus" vaccine on the US market. Tetanus booster is often administered as a combo Td (which prevents against not only tetanus but also diphtheria) or Tdap (tetanus and diphtheria plus pertussis/whooping cough). But MMR would be a separate needle. If it was a single shot, I recommend contacting the doctor's office to confirm exactly what you received.

As to the OP's question about requiring proof -- yes, it could be required. I don't think that's coming in the immediate future, though, because most cruisers (in general, not just DCL) are well beyond their childhood vaccine years it would be difficult if not impossible to prove without all those people getting updated vaccinations. That could cause supply issues.

Just checked my vaccine records and I got 2 shots! No wonder my arm hurt so bad for days afterwards

 

[Sakura1017]

I recommend still getting your titers checked. It's rare but sometimes even if you've had those illnesses you may not have immunity. I had a very mild case of chicken pox as a child so when I get my titers done for measles I plan to also get it done for chicken pox. I'm concerned that the case I had wasn't enough to confer immunity.

Just call your insurance first before you get titers checked to see if there is a special diagnosis code that doctors need to put in to make it covered. Otherwise, it is expensive to get titers checked. If you can't recall getting the shot, cdc does state that you can get another one since it won't hurt especially if your going out of the country.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Just call your insurance first before you get titers checked to see if there is a special diagnosis code that doctors need to put in to make it covered. Otherwise, it is expensive to get titers checked. If you can't recall getting the shot, cdc does state that you can get another one since it won't hurt especially if your going out of the country.

Personally, I wouldn't get extra vaccines. There are inherent risks to vaccines. From the CDC:
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/d/injury-table.pdf

 

[DietCokeMommy]

I recommend still getting your titers checked. It's rare but sometimes even if you've had those illnesses you may not have immunity. I had a very mild case of chicken pox as a child so when I get my titers done for measles I plan to also get it done for chicken pox. I'm concerned that the case I had wasn't enough to confer immunity.

I had a fairly mild case of chicken pox as well (at least according to my parents) and I knew there was a chance I was not immune. But I got titres done when I was struggling to get pregnant the first time and it turned out I am immune. So you never know. And luckily all my MMR stuff was good too!

 

[gotomu212]

I had measles, mumps and rubella as a child but my doctor also had me vaccinated with MMR anyway about 20-ish (?) years ago. He said that it wasn't possible to know if I still had immunity from them given that it was so long ago and that I didn't know how mild or bad they were.

I recall a few years ago that some European countries required proof of measles vaccination upon entry but I can't recall which ones or exactly what year and it was, I think, only for a short period of time. So, it's not impossible that proof could be required at some point. I usually travel with my vaccination record just in case because of that and make sure that I keep it up-to-date including all travel immunizations. I looked at it the other day and realized that, while I did Hep A, I never got my Hep B so I'll probably have to start that over again.

That’s really interesting about Europe. I don’t recall ever showing my vaccine records there, and Europe has a MUCH bigger measles problem. Just for comparison our outbreak in the US is around 700 cases right now, in 2018 Europe had 83,000 cases (54k coming from Ukraine).

 

[Brett Wyman]

In Japan child services will come find you at home at take your child if you don't vaccinate them.

 

[KelsiesMommy]

They should!
It's irresponsible and bordering on criminal if you or your child are not vaccinated and have been exposed to measles.
Measles is no joke, it's a life threatening and highly contagious disease.
If I was the president of the DCL I'd make it mandatory to show proof of vaccination to embark.
This is such a serious issue that in fact I may write a letter to the DCL about it.

Not everyone can receive the vaccine.

 

[JARNJ3]

Not everyone can receive the vaccine.

This is true - and the "herd immunity" was supposed to take care of them. We are losing the herd immunity now

I just contacted my doctor to see if I should get a booster (cruising in the Med in June ) - but I have a funny feeling I had that a couple of years ago.... I'm sure she'll let me know!

Meantime - here's a good article on it:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/30/health/adults-measles-vaccination.html

 

[Kaleidodad]

Not everyone can receive the vaccine.

The CDC list of who cannot receive a Measles vaccine is very limited: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/should-not-vacc.html

 

[KelsiesMommy]

The CDC list of who cannot receive a Measles vaccine is very limited: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/should-not-vacc.html

I have leukemia. Can't get any live vaccines. So yeah....

 

[Pens Fan]

While I agree that everyone who can safely be vaccinated should be, expecting all passengers to provide proof of vaccination is simply unrealistic. I could not begin to tell you where my vaccination records are (I'm 56), which is going to be the case for a lot of people in that age bracket. I'm pretty sure "my mother who died two years ago assured me that I was" isn't going to count as proof, but it's all I've got.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Personally, I wouldn't get extra vaccines. There are inherent risks to vaccines. From the CDC:
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/d/injury-table.pdf

Tylenol carries risks, but people take that regularly.

 

[tcufrog]

Not everyone can receive the vaccine.

A friend of mine has a child who isn't able to receive some of the vaccines because of an allergy to an ingredient in them. I don't know what the ingredient is or how they discovered it. She has a letter from her child's doctor on his letterhead explaining the situation that she can submit with her vaccine record.

I agree that it's difficult to provide evidence of vaccinations if you're an adult. I am concerned about the fact that a lot of adults may not know they aren't immune anymore. I wish the CDC would put out PSAs explaining the situation and urging people to contact their doctors to get checked. A lot of people I've told this to have no idea this is true.

 

[Kaleidodad]

I have leukemia. Can't get any live vaccines. So yeah....

Have you had leukemia your whole life? Obviously there are going to be some exceptions, hence why I linked to the CDC page, but the exceptions are very limited and are mostly not applicable throughout a person's entire life. The point is obviously that everyone who can get these vaccines, should.

 

[KelsiesMommy]

Have you had leukemia your whole life? Obviously there are going to be some exceptions, hence why I linked to the CDC page, but the exceptions are very limited and are mostly not applicable throughout a person's entire life. The point is obviously that everyone who can get these vaccines, should.

I will for the rest of my life...it's chronic and incurable, though treatable.

 

[KelsiesMommy]

Honestly, if you're truly worried about measles, make sure you up your Vit C and Vit A as those have been known to help prevent and treat measles. Many of the cases being reported now actually are vaccine strain, so the concern is that the measles cases we are seeing are not "wild". Most people with a healthy immune system can fight measles off well...understanding yes, you might feel miserable for a week.

 

[sunmoon620]

Most people can access their vaccination record through the public health unit in your parish or county. I am 47 and all of my records are there from birth. I am not sure when they started keeping this registry but in Louisiana it is called LINKS and my stuff is in there from way before there were computer data bases to store stuff.

 

[pixiedustedme]

Curious. Given the current outbreak, does anyone think in the future we may need to provide proof of measles vaccination prior to embarkation or at the very least have records with you?

Seriously contemplating a booster prior to our Sept 2019 cruise. We're in our 60s, have no idea if the vaccine we received as children in the 1960s would be effective if we were exposed. It's not a panic thing, it's a piece of mind thing.

Thoughts?

No, they won't require that.

 

[quickcat]

Curious. Given the current outbreak, does anyone think in the future we may need to provide proof of measles vaccination prior to embarkation or at the very least have records with you?

Seriously contemplating a booster prior to our Sept 2019 cruise. We're in our 60s, have no idea if the vaccine we received as children in the 1960s would be effective if we were exposed. It's not a panic thing, it's a piece of mind thing.

Thoughts?

No I can’t imagine they would require that. They have their health form that is required to help prevent illness.