The measles outbreak in North London is looking like quite a big deal.

Fucking bitch Martin Vermeer

@statsguy I got measles as a child, and apparently survived it, but no, not all children do. There was no vaccine back then. Now there is. This is so, so stupid.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Measles:_A_Dangerous_Illness

Fiona Craig

@statsguy Also, may I add that UK adults born in the 1970s and 1980s may also be eligible for MMR.

This age group may have children at school/further ed, or be involved in teaching, coaching or supervising activities and unknowingly be at risk - both me and my husband were in this category!

The NHS was happy to help get us up to date with MMR.

Adam Jacobs 🇺🇦

@noodlemaz Good point, and boosted

HarriettMB

@statsguy Excluding kids from school for three weeks won’t help. That virus horse has bolted and left the stable a while ago. Get vaccinated, and run a vax programme in the neighbourhoods the school gets its pupils from is probably a much more effective solution: even if it costs a bit more.

Adam Jacobs 🇺🇦

@FionaCraig Good point, and boosted

Adam Jacobs 🇺🇦

@HarriettMB To be fair, it sounds like they are making at least some effort to do that: see the bit near the bottom of the article about catch-up clinics.

I do hope they are being well publicised.

FediThing :progress_pride:

@FionaCraig @statsguy

Yeah this is a really important point.

There was a "gap" in vaccine coverage for many people born in this period who weren't given two doses as there was briefly a mistaken belief at the time that one was enough.

Even if you had one dose, you might need a second dose to get full protection.

(This doesn't apply to people before this period because they were much more likely to be exposed to the full diseases themselves. And it doesn't apply to those born after this period because they got two doses.)

Jonathan T

@noodlemaz @statsguy Given its importance, flagging the typo (which isn't something I'd normally do):

"Request a blood test for antibody *titres*"

tiddy roosevelt

RE: https://mas.to/@statsguy/116081589744441405

If you're an adult and don't have 100% confidence in your vaccine record, it's not too late to find out and potentially get vaccinated too

I began to have suspicions I was unvaccinated and it turned out they weren't unfounded. Gen X/millennials were smack bang in the middle of the MMR scare so a lot of people didn't get them.
I got booked in for the first MMR shot the same week.

If you're not entire sure of your vaccination record or have reason to doubt it, definitely ask your GP to check

Carolyn

@statsguy They SHOULD be excluded from school.

IcooIey

@babe even if you know you were vaccinated as a child, sometimes immunity fades. Your doctor can take a blood sample and check if you are still showing immunity (called pulling a titer). If not, time for a booster. I was vaccinated against Mumps, Measles and Rubella (MMR) as a child and had a booster to R while pregnant, but found at 50 I lacked immunity to mumps, so got another MMR jab. Would not have known except couldn’t find vax records and needed to show I was current.

Hermannus Stegeman

@statsguy most kids in a develloped country don't get measles, they get vaccinated...

ben

@FionaCraig @statsguy Yes — I just checked with my GP and it turns out I’d missed a dose as a child (late 80s), they booked me in for an additional one no problem.

JF :debian: :verbike:

@babe
I wasn't vaccinated either and got that shit when I was younger.

Also got three years of bad flu / pneumonia after it.

A gift that kept on giving

Ian Turton

@babe also if like me you are early gen X then you probably predate MMR but could have smallpox immunity

Nick

@babe

I was fairly sure that when I was a kid, the measles vaccine was not yet available. But I couldn't remember whether or not I'd had measles as a child.

So I contacted my GP (in Ireland) with a view to getting vaccinated anyway. They said they could do a simple blood test for immunity first. Which they did, and I was.

Happy days.

FediThing :progress_pride:

@babe

Also apparently at the time there was a mistaken assumption that one dose was enough, so a lot of people from that generation who got their vaccinations (either MMR or separates) only got one dose.

If you're checking with your GP about your vaccination record, make sure they tell you whether you got one dose or two. If you only got one dose then you might need to get another dose.

Peter Brown

@statsguy before the days of the measles vaccine many kids were left with permanent damage

Sarah W

@martinvermeer @statsguy
Same here, I very nearly died.
Thank goodness there is a vaccine now, please take advantage of it.

Steampunk_Prof

@statsguy
Even the well known are not unaffected this is Roald Dahl's letter to parents where he relives the loss of his daughter!
https://www.encephalitis.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/R-Dahls-letter.pdf