Newton Public Health Releases Measles Advisory

From The City of Newton: City health officials are advising Newton employees and residents to proactively review their measles vaccination status. While there are no current Newton measles cases, the Newton Health and Human Services Department encourages individuals to check their vaccination history because measles outbreaks are occurring throughout the United States and abroad.

Measles is a highly contagious disease. If you are exposed to measles and you do not know if you are immune, you will most likely need to stay home until you can produce evidence of immunity or until the 21-day incubation period has passed.

Health officials consider you protected from measles if you have written documentation showing at least one of the following:
• You received two doses of measles-containing vaccine after age 1, and you are a(n)—o school-aged child (grades K-12) o adult who will be in a setting that poses a high risk for measles transmission, including students at post-high school education institutions, healthcare personnel, and international travelers.

• You received one dose of measles-containing vaccine, and you are a(n)—
o preschool-aged child
o adult who will not be in a high-risk setting for measles transmission.
• A laboratory confirmed that you had measles at some point in your life.
• A laboratory confirmed that you are immune to measles.
• You were born in the United States before 1957.

Additionally, people who were vaccinated prior to 1968 with either inactivated (killed) measles vaccine or measles vaccine of unknown type should be revaccinated with at least one dose of live attenuated measles vaccine. Killed measles vaccine, which was available in 1963-1967, was not effective. Check with your health care provider if you have questions about your measles immunity.

For more information about measles and where to get a measles vaccine, go to www.newtonma.gov/health.