The measles outbreak in North London is looking like quite a big deal.
Remember folks, while most kids in developed countries who get measles will make a full recovery, there is still a substantial minority that can get serious complications. It is not a benign disease.
If you have kids, this would be a good time to check that they are up to date with their vaccinations.
The MMR vaccine provides excellent protection against measles.
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
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.
@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.
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.)
