07 Mar 2025 Protect Children Against Measles
This blog post was written alongside Dr. Mayssa Abuali, a Pediatric Infectious Diseases specialist and the medical director of the Philadelphia Department of Health’s Immunization Program.
Measles continues to circulate in the United States, with a large outbreak growing in Texas. This outbreak has tragically led to the death of a school-aged child who was not vaccinated. A cluster of 3 measles cases, which began with an unvaccinated child who had traveled internationally, recently occurred in New Jersey. The best way to protect against measles is through vaccination with MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine. The MMR vaccine is 93-95 % protective against measles after dose 1 and 97% protective after two doses.
Ways pediatricians can help protect children against measles:
- Continue to vaccinate all children with MMR routinely at age 12 months and 4 years.
- Conduct recall to patients that are behind on their MMR vaccine series. Use this guide to generate a reminder/recall report in PhilaVax.
- Ask about travel plans at each visit and educate parents on risks of vaccine preventable diseases.
- Vaccinate children* traveling internationally starting at 6 months of age and administer an early MMR dose 2 to children 12 months and above at least 28 days after dose 1.
- Doses given before 12 months of age do not count towards the final series, and those children must receive two subsequent doses.
- Doses given after 12 months do count towards final series even if dose 2 was given before age 4 years. These are considered valid for PA school enrollment.
- Triage patients with fever and rash to avoid waiting room exposures.
- Alert hospitals before sending a child with suspected measles from your practice to the emergency room. Ensure the family has clear instructions from the ER staff on safe hospital entry before they leave your office or their home.
*Please note that early MMR 1 or 2 doses are not recommended routinely unless there is evidence of sustained or widespread community transmission. Early doses are recommended as post exposure prophylaxis in select cases exposed to active measles. The Philadelphia Department of Health will offer guidance in such situations.
Prior to international travel, CDC recommends:
- Infants 6 months of age or older receive their first MMR vaccine at least two weeks prior to departure.
- Children aged 12 months and older should receive their second dose prior to travel, and at least 28 days after the first dose.
- At this time, the CDC does not recommend early doses of MMR for domestic U.S. travel.
For clinical guidance, please refer to Think Measles: Recognizing and Addressing Measles in Pediatric Practice.
If you suspect a case of measles, please call the PDPH Division of Disease Control at 215-685-6740.
Print this measles flyer for your office:
