There’s a big measles outbreak in Texas and New Mexico right now with cases scattered across numerous states including: Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, and Washington.
While this is worrisome, measles is highly preventable with the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine. For context, among the over 200 cases, about 94% of them were among people who are unvaccinated. With spring break just around the corner, it’s important to prepare for any upcoming travel and take the proper steps to protect your health and the health of others.
Check your vaccination status
Many students received a series of 2 MMR vaccines when they were kids. The MMR vaccine is a common requirement for public schools because of the serious health effects of measles and how contagious it is. For every one person who gets measles, up to 18 unvaccinated people will become infected – That makes measles about 9 times more infectious than COVID-19. The MMR vaccine is highly effective in preventing measles and is our most important tool to prevent infection and further spread of the disease.
If you are from Wisconsin, you can check the Wisconsin Immunization Registry. If you are from another U.S. state, visit the CDC website for ways to locate your vaccination records. Your home health care provider or a parent can also help you locate your vaccination records to check for the MMR vaccine (which is a 2-dose series).
If you haven’t received 2-doses of the MMR vaccine, you are highly recommended to get vaccinated. UHS provides MMR vaccines for a cost. Vaccines are also available at local Madison pharmacies.
Upload your record to MyUHS
Once you check your MMR vaccine status, please let UHS know by uploading your records to MyUHS. This is important because it helps our campus stay prepared as we continue to monitor infectious disease activity. In the event of an outbreak, we can then quickly identify students who are unvaccinated and at high risk for measles. Since measles is so infectious, in the event of an outbreak, any exposed students without documented proof of 2 doses of MMR vaccine would have to quarantine to prevent further spread.
- Login to MyUHS
- Once logged in, go to Medical Clearances. Click Update next to Immunization Record. Upload a file that includes your records along with your full name and date of birth.
- Next, click Update next to Measles. Add Immunization under Vaccine History entering the Date and Immunization.
After that, your vaccine records will be reviewed by UHS staff members. Thank you for doing your part to keep yourself, and campus, healthy.