‘We can get a case tomorrow’: What you need to know about measles and the MMR vaccine in Nashville
“There hasn’t been any reported measles here in middle Tennessee just yet. That being said, that could change on a dime.”
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Dr. Joseph Gigante with Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt says he’s watched with concern as measle cases spread around the country. Already the U.S. has almost as many cases this year as they did for all of 2024 according to the CDC. He’s urging people to check their MMR vaccination status to make sure they’re protected if cases come to Tennessee.
“There hasn’t been any reported measles here in middle Tennessee just yet. That being said, that could change on a dime,” Gigante said, “We can get a case tomorrow.”
So he’s urging everyone to check their MMR vaccination status.
“The key thing is the vaccine is safe and it’s effective and it keeps children healthy,” Gigante said.
Typically, Americans get the first shot between 12 and 14 months and the second dose before they turn six, but it’s not only a vaccine for kids.
“For older adults and for folks who maybe got the measles vaccine in the 60s or 70s, I’d recommend that they reach out to their health care provider. It might be that the measles vaccine they got was not the same type of vaccine that we are currently using,” Gigante said.
If you are fully vaccinated and exposed, he says there’s less reason to be worried. The shot is 97% effective.
If you’re unvaccinated he says that’s a different story.
“There’s no question that more children can potentially get some serious complications, get hospitalized and die as a result of getting sick with the measles. It’s not a disease that you play around with,” Gigante said.
There are signs to look out for if you are worried your child has measles.
“They will run high fever. They will have kind of red eyes. Their nose will run. They’ve got this really bad cough and then maybe a day or two after those symptoms develop, they’ll develop this really impressive red rash from head to toe,” Gigante said.
Kroger, CVS, and Vanderbilt Health walk-in clinics say that the vaccine is available if you make an appointment.
“The first place I would suggest is going to your doctor’s office and your health care provider’s office. At our clinic, we got lots of MMR,” Gigante said.
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