Vaccinations are commonly considered a childhood health issue, but if adults think they're protected, doctors say that's not always the case. Staff members in her office searched their electronic medical records for potentially vulnerable adults born between 1970 and the mid-1990s who might need a measles shot. In Canada, anyone born before 1970 who doesn't remember having measles in childhood should probably have their immunity checked with a blood test, she said. Whooping cough protectionKwong has studied how immunity in adults can also wane to other infectious diseases such as pertussis, also called whooping cough. In contrast, pregnant women can't receive the measles vaccine because it contains a live virus that carries a low risk of affecting the fetus.

Source: CBC News April 12, 2019 08:00 UTC