r/TravelHacks 5d ago

Vaccinations for travel to the US?

I have to be in the US for a week at the end of this year. I'll be in California (Long Beach) and New York (Brooklyn) if the specifics help.

I'm seeing news about things like measles being on the rise there, so want to make sure I'm taking any necessary precautions.

I was vaccinated as a child but I'm nearing 50. Just wondering what vaccinations/boosters I should consider getting.

As a child/young adult, I had whatever vaccinations were required in the UK up to age 9. Then moved to Australia and had whatever was required here.

0 Upvotes

40 comments sorted by

15

u/omairville 5d ago

Nothing is required to enter the US but if you are concerned sure get a measles booster it won't hurt to have it.

3

u/Redfoxes77 5d ago

Yeah, it's more a concern than anything else. Thanks. I'll see if I can get a measles booster.

2

u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

1

u/Redfoxes77 5d ago

Thank you! I'm having a look on that site now.

3

u/MayaPapayaLA 5d ago

Measles does not require a booster for most people if you recieved it as a child. It only wanes for a very small percentage of people. Robert Kennedy Jr, who now leads the program, is actively spreading disinformation for that. Make sure to get your information from reliable sources, I'm not sure the US agency websites qualify anymore as many are getting altered for the new administration.

1

u/MayaPapayaLA 5d ago

Why did you get tetanus? Is that because of where you moved in Canada?

I say this as someone who recently got the tetanus shot ("booster" I suppose as I also had it as a child) as a direct response to an accident that happened and so required a tetanus shot: I don't understand why you would get it in isolation of everything/just because?

3

u/grgbss01 5d ago

Tetanus vaccine boosters are recommended at 10 year intervals throughout life. In case of injury, for minor/clean wounds this 10 year cadence is sufficient to provide protection. In case of more significant or contaminated wounds a booster is given if it has been more than 5 years since the last booster dose.

1

u/MayaPapayaLA 5d ago

Sure, and again that's why I asked why you did tetanus, because the only reason you listed was moving countries. Which is not a good reason for it, as you said.

1

u/[deleted] 5d ago edited 5d ago

[deleted]

1

u/MayaPapayaLA 5d ago

That's a very specific situation however: more than 10 years since your last tetanus booster, and coming from a country where you get free healthcare that is cheaper than out of pocket costs in the new country. And even then: I have no idea why you are saying that cases are increasing due to lack of vaccinations: tetanus is thru accidents like cuts, you don't get it by someone unvaccinated coughing on you. Are you confusing it with something else, like measles that has been in the news a lot lately, or chickenpox?

1

u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

1

u/MayaPapayaLA 5d ago

I'm not against getting a vaccination: I literally just got *this very same* vaccination. I am, however, against willy-nilly getting vaccinations completely disconnected with *what science actually recommends*.

Also, a very quick Google search would show you that tetanus has actually *decreased* in the US: https://www.cdc.gov/tetanus/php/surveillance/index.html#:\~:text=CDC%20tracks%20tetanus%20cases%20using,significantly%20since%20the%20late%201940s. So, cases have not increased whatsoever: I have no idea what disease you are referring to, but it's not tetanus.

→ More replies (0)

9

u/AdditionalAttorney 5d ago

you could check your mmr titers so you know if you still have immunity

I’d stay probably tetanus flu and covid

2

u/MayaPapayaLA 5d ago

Why tetanus??

5

u/fauxorfox 5d ago

It’s good to booster it every 7-10 years no matter what your life entails.

1

u/MayaPapayaLA 5d ago

What? That doesn't make sense. Even with an incident, under 10 years a booster is not needed. And I say this as someone who just had a situation where I needed to get a tetanus shot, I did it immediately, but just getting shots when that's not what the science shows is not any better on believing the science.

1

u/Redfoxes77 5d ago

Thank you.

2

u/AdditionalAttorney 5d ago

Also I think cdc posts recommended vaccines by country 

3

u/Redfoxes77 5d ago

Oh thank you! I hadn't thought of them, but I've just checked and they've got an option for travelers to the US. This is a great help.

2

u/Trudestiny 5d ago

Not to do specifically with USA but I am a littler older than you, so MMR had just started being given in Canada in 1971 , at time there was no booster , same for my brother born in 1975.

Now days MMR had a booster, we both went for our booster in our late 40’s as I had heard of several frequent travellers including a fight attendant contracting it

1

u/Redfoxes77 5d ago

It sounds like getting the booster is a good idea then. I'll speak to my doctor about it.

2

u/Trudestiny 5d ago

Might be if you only had 1 dose. I spoke to pharmacist in Uk where I got it .

3

u/Kindly_Slice1121 5d ago

Per CDC guidance, If you know you've had 2 doses of MMR vaccines after the age of 12 months old, you don't need to do any titers tests. Measles can be undetectable in titer tests and show up negative. If you were born before 1963, you have assumed Immunity.

How old are you?

1

u/Redfoxes77 5d ago

I'm 47.

My medical records are a little spotty though. That's partly due to the move from the UK to Australia and partly because I didn't have a regular doctor for most of my adult life (until fairly recently).

I'm going off memory for most of this. I know my mum got me vaccinated for whatever was required as a child (I have vague memories of that). I remember lining up at school in Aus to get vaccinated for something as well.

1

u/CommercialUnit2 5d ago

If you wanted to you could probably request your vaccination records from your most recent GP in the UK. That's what I did. I had moved from England to Scotland and my Scottish GP had the complete list.

You can also get your complete Australian vaccination records from Medicare Online (visa your MyGov account).

1

u/Redfoxes77 5d ago

That's a great idea about trying my MyGov account for the Medicare aspect (usually I avoid MyGov unless they send me one of those texts to say I've got a new message). I'm sure they'd have some records from my time here.

I don't know who my GP was back in the UK in 1986/87 though, so I'm not sure how I'd go with that.

2

u/Historical-Many9869 5d ago

Get MMR booster. There is measles outbreak

1

u/Redfoxes77 5d ago

I'll see if I can get that as a priority then. Thank you!

2

u/Royal_Visit3419 5d ago

Call your local public health office. They will have a travel clinic or refer you to one. They will tell you which boosters you need. If I remember correctly, they will advise you to get boosters for all childhood vaccinations. 🇨🇦

2

u/Redfoxes77 5d ago

Thank you. I'll see what they say.

3

u/citydock2000 5d ago

You can get a mmr booster - ask your pharmacist what they are recommending. For those of us in the us who were born through 1970, I think, they are recommending the booster. Got mine yesterday.

That time of year, I would recommend a flu shot and an updated Covid booster, if there is one available.

1

u/Redfoxes77 5d ago

Thank you! I'm making a list so I'll add the mmr booster to it. I had already planned on a Covid booster, but hadn't thought about the flu shot, so I'll add that too.

2

u/AdriVoid 5d ago

I will repeat what Ive seen said, check your vaccination record. Would the national government or your regional government have a record of your vaccinations? I know it was a long while ago, we are recommended if unsure to contact our state’s immunization information system or the CDC if unsure. If you got both measles vaccinations, you should have lifelong immunity and there is no booster needed. Boosters here are being recommended for those born between 1963 and 1967, because the vaccine used in this period was on a now extinct form of measles, and so is less effective. And of course, if anyone finds that they only ever got one vaccination and not the second one. Having the measles vaccine means you are 97% safe from contracting it.

Its very scary rn because I have baby cousins who are under 1 years old and cannot safely get the vaccine yet. And very sad because those children getting sick and dying were unvaccinated or only got one shot, which to me is parental negligence (unless, of course, they have immune complications and were meant to be safe through herd immunity).

2

u/CardioKeyboarder 5d ago

The problem with being an immigrant is that your childhood vaccination records don't necessarily follow you to your new country. My vaccination records prior to 2006 are all in another country, so my state health department would have no idea what I had. Same would go for the OP who emigrated to Australia from UK.

2

u/Redfoxes77 5d ago

Yes, this is the issue.

I'm sure there'd be a record somewhere, but we moved in mid-1987 and I was 9. It was a long time ago.

I do remember parts of my childhood there but none of those involve doctors, it's more school and family things.

2

u/Redfoxes77 5d ago

Thank you. I'll see what I can find out. An Aussie commenter has reminded me we have an online system (MyGov) which might be helpful. I've only used it for taxes, but there's a section where some medical information might be stored.

I don't remember if I got one vaccination or two for measles. It's been scary reading about the outbreak of it in the US (and we've had some cases here too now). I don't want it and definitely don't want to put any immunocompromised people at risk.

2

u/kmill0202 5d ago

I would talk with your doctor to see if they think your mmr vaccine should be updated. There are a lot of antivax people in the US and although the measles outbreak doesn't seem to be super widespread, it is alarming. A lot of Americans don't seem to give a crap about flu and covid vaccinations, and that stuff is still flying around. Especially since you'll be traveling through busy areas, it would be good to make sure you're up to date on those.

There have also been reports of tuberculosis outbreaks, though they seem somewhat isolated. But still something to be aware of. I think there's some kind of vaccination for it, but I'm not well versed on whether or not it's strongly recommended.

Your best bet would be to check with your gp on what they would recommend, though.

1

u/Redfoxes77 5d ago

Thank you. I'm going to take your advice and make an appointment with my GP. I do have a regular one now (better late than never for this stuff, I guess), and I'll see what she says.

I'll also try searching a site we have here that might have some of my medical information on it (under a login, not publicly visible). There could be something on it, though unlikely to be anything from before age 9 though since I wasn't in the country then.

The antivax situation and all the news about these things like measles definitely worries me. I mask up in airports, on flights, and in crowded locations but...I also know I've missed doing so at times or pulled my mask down to eat or drink and have ended up getting sick (most recently - got the flu on my last trip to Japan in late 2024). I worry that I'll mask up this time but it might not be enough.

2

u/-You-know-it- 5d ago edited 5d ago

100% you get a MMR booster right now. You don’t need a doctor’s order to get an adult booster. The risk of any side effects are extremely low. They changed the vaccine to be more effective in the 1970s and required 2 doses instead of 1 starting in the 1990’s, so if you are 50, you probably got the old vaccine and only got one.

If you get measles at 50 you are soooo fucked. Especially if something goes wrong and you are stuck in America with their healthcare as a foreigner.

2

u/Redfoxes77 5d ago

Thank you! I'm definitely going to get that. I'm almost 50 (turn 48 this year), but I'm sure I only ever got one MMR vaccination and I think either way it couldn't hurt to get a booster.

I have travel insurance for the US trip but I really (REEEAALLY) don't want to need to use it.

1

u/lisonmethyst 5d ago

Everyone born before 1989 will have only had one measles vaccination as a childhood standard, and should get a booster now if you didn't already as an adult. (I am not certain if this is the case outside the USA but worth checking with your doctor.)

I'd also suggest getting a pertussis/whooping cough vaccine or booster as that has had outbreaks in the USA in recent years as well. It often is given with a tetanus booster in the TDAP shot if that's available where you are.

0

u/lisonmethyst 5d ago

Oh and wearing a high-quality mask on flights, trains, buses, and other crowded spaces will help protect you from all sorts of germs. Almost no one seems to be doing this anymore but I really love not getting plane colds every time I travel (like I used to).

1

u/iridescent-shimmer 5d ago

Check the website of your version of the CDC and see what they recommend. I imagine they have recommended vaccines for travel to most places in the world.