Had the measles as a kid? Then you’re already protected

More Coloradans are coming down with measles.

In just a couple of months this year, cases have already climbed into double digits. As of Friday, June 6, the number stood at 12 cases, according to the state health department’s measles website.

That total is twice the number recorded in all of the past decade — six total cases from 2014 to 2024.

With measles in the news a lot these days, CPR has been hearing from a lot of folks through Colorado Wonders, CPR’s home to answer your questions about, well, just about everything.

We got this one from a resident in Loveland. “If you had measles as a child, before the vaccine existed, do you still have immunity?” 

Kathy Merlo is 74. She’s retired. All the news about measles got her thinking about when she was a kid. “I had measles, mumps, chicken pox. I mean, every childhood disease that was prevalent before vaccines were invented, I had them.”

Kathy grew up in Norfolk, Virginia. She remembers measles hit her hard with a severe case in fifth or sixth grade.

“I remember being real sick,” she said. “I remember my mother being worried it was going to damage my eyes because back then they said that measles could damage your eyes or your hearing.”

Who can forget a bad case of measles, if you ever had it. “I remember the bumps were all over my body.” The red rash is a hallmark of the disease.

An answer to the question

So, decades after her battle with the red bumps, with measles now back again, Kathy Merlo should be OK — she does not need a shot.

“Individuals born before 1957, that's the cutoff, are generally presumed to be immune due to widespread natural measles,” said Dr. Sean O’Leary, a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital Colorado and an infectious disease specialist. 

For those born before 1957, measles was so common and contagious almost everyone contracted it before they were 15. When you get measles, your body develops antibodies against the virus. 

“Once you have measles, can you get it again? Very rare. Very rarely. So it's usually lifelong protection,” said O’Leary.

Courtesy of Kathy Merlo

If you’re not sure if you got it, O’Leary says you can check your vaccination status with the state — or get tested to see. “It is just an antibody test for measles,” he said.

The state health department states, in its FAQs for measles on its website, another option, getting another shot.

“There is no harm in getting another dose of MMR vaccine if you may already be immune to measles (or mumps or rubella),” it said.

The CDC says most people who get two doses of a measles vaccine, following the U.S. schedule, are protected for life.

Kathy Merlo says she’s glad to know, for her, that long-ago measles case means no shot needed now. “No need to do it if I don't need to.”

If you have any questions, of course, always talk to your health care provider, who can discuss your specific situation.

Some good online resources

The website for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has a wealth of information all about measles, including symptoms, exposure locations and times from individual cases.

Most cases involved unvaccinated people or those with unknown status, though five were in people who were vaccinated with two doses. Also, most cases this year have been in people 18 and older and that two people who caught measles have been hospitalized in Colorado, but none have died. 

Currently, there are 1,168 confirmed measles cases in the U.S., reported from more than half the states, and 17 outbreaks (defined as three or more related cases). The vaccination status of those who’ve caught is 95 percent unvaccinated or unknown. 

Texas has by far the most cases, with more than 700.

Most Colorado cases are linked to a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to Denver.  

The CDC says, “Don’t travel if you’re sick,” if you think you or your child have been exposed to measles. It also states: “You should be vaccinated against measles at least 2 weeks before international travel.”