With the resurgence of measles in the U.S., should I get vaccinated? I am in my sixties and can’t remember having had measles or getting the vaccine previously. Or is there a way to be tested to see if I am immune?

If you were born in the early to mid-1960s, you might have received an earlier, mostly ineffective version of the measles vaccine and may not have immunity (more about that below). In contrast, people born after 1970—when the current, effective measles vaccine began to be widely used—were probably vaccinated and are likely protected against measles. And since measles was so prevalent before there was any vaccine, most adults born before the 1960s are likely to have lifelong immunity because they probably had the illness as a child.

You’re right to have measles on your radar. As of August 5, there have been 1,356 confirmed cases of measles and three confirmed deaths across the U.S. in 2025. That’s up from 285 confirmed cases in all of 2024 and the most since measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000.

Spread through airborne particles, measles is one of the most contagious viral infections (much more so than even Covid), with one measles-infected person potentially able to infect up to 18 others. Disconcertingly, vaccination against measles decreased during the pandemic and now falls below the 95 percent population rate needed for herd immunity. Nearly all measles cases in 2025 have been in unvaccinated individuals or in those whose vaccination status is unknown.

Whether you need to be vaccinated depends on several factors, including your immunization history and your likelihood of coming into contact with someone who has measles.

As a general rule, measles vaccination is most important for young children, among whom the virus can spread especially rapidly and who may have infant siblings at home who are too young to be vaccinated. But other high-risk individuals include healthcare workers, college students, people traveling internationally, and people living in a community with a current measles outbreak.

Experts recommend that adults get vaccinated if they don’t have evidence of immunity to measles, defined as at least one of the following:

• Written documentation that you received, on or after your first birthday, at least one dose of live measles vaccine if you’re at normal risk and two doses (at least 28 days apart) if you’re at high risk
• A lab-confirmed case of measles
• Lab evidence of immunity

If you don’t have evidence of immunity, you can get a measles (titer) test, which measures antibodies in the blood. If antibodies are present, you don’t need vaccination. If they are not present, it means you are not immune and should get vaccinated. While you could also safely opt to just get the vaccine without testing for antibodies, there’s concern that in the event of a very large measles outbreak, we might not have sufficient vaccine for everyone who needs it.

Note that certain people can’t receive the measles vaccine, including those with compromised immunity and pregnant women, as well as young infants. These groups are especially at risk for serious complications from measles and depend on others’ being vaccinated to protect them.

For the CDC’s full recommendations and up-to-date information about measles cases, go to cdc.gov/measles.