How to Find Out If You Got the Measles Vaccine as a Kid

WITH 146 CONFIRMED cases of measles in the current Texas outbreak, and the first U.S. death from the disease in a decade, you may be wondering whether you actually did get all your childhood vaccinations. These include the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine, designed to protect you from the notoriously contagious measles.

There’s no central repository of childhood vaccine records in the United States, says Brian Labus, Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. So you’d need to find your copy of your vaccination records or get them from your pediatrician’s office—which may or may not still be operating. There are a few other places to do that detective work (more below).

In lieu of that, some people are getting blood tests to check if they have antibodies for some of the diseases children are vaccinated for, but there are pros and cons with those. Here’s what to know about making sure you’re protected against measles and whether you got other vaccinations on the childhood immunization schedule.

Ask Your Doctor for an Antibody Test

IF YOU WERE born before 1957, it’s assumed that you were exposed to measles as a child and don’t need to be vaccinated, Labus says. If you’re around 45 or older, you were likely exposed to chicken pox and don’t need that vaccine, adds Thomas Russo, M.D., chief of the division of infectious diseases at the University at Buffalo. There aren’t specific age cutoffs for other diseases, though.

But there is a blood test, called an antibody serology test, that can tell you if you have antibodies against certain diseases, including measles, mumps, chicken pox, hepatitis, tetanus, HIV, mononucleosis, and others.

These blood tests can suggest whether you’ve been previously infected with these diseases or vaccinated against them, Dr. Russo says. “The presence of antibodies indicates that your body mounted an immune response against a pathogen either due to a natural exposure or to a vaccination,” Labus explains. “It can also give you an idea about the level of protection you have in your body.”

While that generally means that you’re immune, it’s also not a guarantee, says Georges Benjamin, M.D., executive director of the American Public Health Association. Also, antibodies decline over time.

Starting with an antibody test to determine your vaccination status might make sense for some people, but Labus says there are some practicalities to consider.

For one, the tests can be expensive, costing around $25src, Dr. Benjamin says. Your insurance may or may not cover them.

It can also take several days to get the results. Labus says if you’re using the test to determine if you need a vaccine quickly, you’re potentially not protected during that wait. “While this doesn’t matter for routine situations, it could be the difference between getting measles or avoiding it if you live in a community experiencing an outbreak,” he says.

If you’re not sure you were vaccinated, Labus and the other doctors we spoke to suggest just getting the MMR, polio, DTap (diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis), and other shots just to be safe (more about that below).

But if you’re not sure you want to get jabbed, your pediatrician retired long ago, and you have a moment to invest in detective work on your records, here’s where to look:

• Old records you or your parents have at home, like a baby book.

• Any schools you attended. Many states require certain vaccines before you start kindergarten, including MMR, polio, DTap, and varicella, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If you were in the military, you would have been required to get certain vaccines.

• The health department where you grew up. Some state health departments keep immunization records, Dr. Benjamin says. But whether yours are there may depend on your age. “State immunization registries are a relatively new development, and those systems were not likely in place when you were young if you are more than 25 or 3src years old,” Labus says.

Consider Getting the Shot

TALK TO YOUR doctor about your concerns and uncertainty about your childhood vaccination status and level of protection against diseases, and they can suggest whether just getting the vaccine for the first time or a booster is appropriate, Labus says. “Most vaccines can be given to adults without any problems.”

Getting the shot is usually cheaper and faster than an antibody test, he adds. Dr. Benjamin points out that boosters are a good idea to consider especially if you have chronic diseases, immune system dysfunction, or work in the healthcare industry. Also consider it if you plan to travel to parts of the world with higher instances of diseases like measles, such as some Asian and African countries, Dr. Russo adds.

And by the way, even if you did get all your vaccines as a child, you need to get a DTap or Tdap booster every 1src years as an adult for protection against diphtheria and tetanus, Dr. Russo says.

For the other childhood vaccines, “receiving an extra dose is going to boost your antibody levels even if you have previously been vaccinated, which is a good thing,” Labus explains. Dr. Russo agrees: “The path of least resistance is when in doubt, there’s no harm in getting a booster shot.”