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To everyone reading this: If you know you haven't had a measles vaccine or you are not sure, please go see a doctor. It's an easy thing you can do to make us al
by hannob 7y ago
To everyone reading this: If you know you haven't had a measles vaccine or you are not sure, please go see a doctor. It's an easy thing you can do to make us all safer.
Yeah, antivaxxers are annoying. But there's also a large number of people who weren't vaccinated for all kinds of reasons that just never cared.
- yanokwa 7y agoCitation on the large number of unvaccinated?
- Anon84 7y agoAverage vaccination rates around the world are about 85% https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2018/08/Misperception-of-global-vaccination-coverage.png https://ourworldindata.org/uploads/2018/08/Misperception-of-... In the US it's a few percent higher: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/imz-managers/coverage/childvaxview/data-reports/mmr/reports/2017.html https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/imz-managers/coverage/childvaxv...
- schoen 7y agoThese two statistics aren't directly comparable because the former is "against some [i.e., any] disease" and the latter is specifically the MMR vaccine. My guess is that in many developing countries the polio vaccine is the most administered because it's extremely cheap, extremely effective, addresses a very serious disease, and isn't at all painful for the child. Another important childhood vaccine that would be covered in the 85% global statistic is the different variants of DTP.
- Anon84 7y agoYes, the first one is a lower bound on the second.
- schoen 7y agoYou can also get the MMR vaccine at Walgreens for $99 in just a few minutes with no appointment and no prescription (some insurance may also cover all or part of it, and if you have an FSA, you can also use your FSA card). Most pharmacy chains have it in stock and offer it to walk-in patients. If you are sure you've never had any MMR vaccine at all, they may recommend two shots, separated in time.
- yellowapple 7y agoIs there any danger in getting re-vaccinated if you're not 100% sure you've already been vaccinated?
- hannob 7y agoNo. (Except for the very minor risks that always come with it.) I know in Germany the recommendation for the MMR vaccine is to just give it to all adults that aren't sure if they got it as a child (for all adults born after 1970, because they assume all born before almost certainly had the disease).
- schoen 7y agoI was sure of my childhood vaccination history and not sure whether I had received an adult booster shot or not. The pharmacist was happy to give me the shot. My doctor subsequently said that medical advice about this might depend on one's particular situation (e.g. travel plans), since different people's risk of either acquiring or spreading measles could vary. Subsequent shots don't decrease one's immunity, but they can still produce the same side effects as the initial vaccination, which are usually mild. For example, I experienced mild arm soreness for four to five days, which is the most common MMR side effect. Feel free to ask your own doctor or pharmacist! :-)