Due to the current measles NEWS reports and voluntary recall, there is a nationwide shortage of measles vaccines. When you would like to receive a measles vaccine after a doctor's examination, you can normally get shot after four to five business days, but it is currently taking a long time to receive the vaccine. UT health service center will take measure to prioritize them based on medical and business urgency.
The two-dose measles vaccine is a routine vaccination in most of the countries including Japan. In Japan, the government provides two-dose measles vaccines free of charge to children because it is cost-effective and can be expected to have a herd immunity effect. Also, two-dose measles vaccinations provide life-long protection. Although it may take several months to normalize the distribution of the vaccine, even if this small outbreak has ended, we recommend that you get vaccinated in preparation for the next outbreak. Like measles, rubella (German measles), varicella (chicken pox), and mumps are diseases whose life-long immunity can be acquired by administering the vaccine twice. Please also check your vaccination records, measure your antibody titer, and consider getting vaccinated using the flowchart shown on the back side. Especially, please check the vaccination status for the rubella because there is a combination vaccine of measles and rubella, MR vaccine, which will cost less than vaccinated separately. Note that MMR vaccine, measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, is not approved in Japan.
Two types of measles vaccines are approved in Japan: measles and measles/rubella combination (MR), which will cost 5,000 yen and 8,000 yen individually at UT health service center. Additionally, examination fees, 100 yen for non-students and free for students for one doctor’s consultation, will be charged. Currently, the distribution of measles vaccines is particularly limited, so even if you want to get vaccinated for only measles, we may recommend a combination vaccine, depending on your medical urgency.
We reopened the order of MR vaccination by paying the fee as usual on May 1st, 2024. Please expect longer waiting time. Also if there are more than one waiting persons, we will prioritize them according to the business and medical necessity. Those who need vaccines for travel or practical training, such as teaching training or nursing home training as part of the University's curriculum will be prioritized. Those who already had vaccines more than once, or who had enough antibody titer or no data of titer will be less prioritized. (Not on a first-come, first-served basis)
<Flowchart for decision on how many doses are needed>
Having history of measles →No need to get vaccinated
It is advisable to check the antibody titer to confirm whether it really was measles.
Number of measles vaccinations (measles, MR, and MMR)
・Having a record of 2 doses → No vaccination required
(If the antibody level is insufficient, vaccination can be given upon request.)
・Having a record of 1 dose → Antibody titer (IgG, EIA method) measurement
→ 16 or higher → No vaccination needed
→ 2.0-15.9 → One additional vaccination
・No record/Unknown → Antibody titer (IgG, EIA method) measurement
→ 16 or higher → No vaccination required
→ 2.0-15.9 → One additional vaccination
→ Less than 2.0 → Two additional vaccinations
<Overview of measles>
After an incubation period of 10-12 days, cold-like symptoms appear for 2 days, followed by a fever of 39 degrees or higher and a rash. Measles is highly contagious because it is transmitted through the air, and more than 90% of people who do not have immunity will develop the disease. Various complications are known, and there are cases of death (0.1%) due to pneumonia (5-10%), encephalitis (0.1%), etc. In addition, a rare complication called subacute sclerosing anterior encephalitis (SSPE), which develops 7 to 10 years later and causes death within 6 to 9 months (0.001%). For about a month after contracting measles, the immune system against other diseases is less effective, so complications are often seen even after recovering.
Two-dose vaccination can provide lifelong immunity, but if immunity is insufficient, such as when only one dose is given, you may suffer from mild phenotypes, which is called modified measles, with longer incubation period, and smaller area of rash. Although its infectivity is weak, it can be a source of infection to those around you. We recommend that you take this opportunity to check the number of vaccinations you have received and follow the flowchart above.
The vaccine is a live, attenuated strain, a strain that grows in the body with reduced toxicity and infectivity. At least one month’s interval is needed when administering two doses. Those who are or may be pregnant, those who are immunocompromised, those who have used blood transfusions/globulin preparations within three months, those who have received a live vaccine within 27 days, those who have received the novel coronavirus vaccine within 13 days are not eligible for the measles vaccination. Common side effects include fever (20%), rash (10%), and swelling at the vaccination site. Rare but serious side effects include anaphylaxis (frequency unknown), encephalitis encephalopathy (1/1 million), and acute thrombocytopenic purpura (1/1 million). The frequency of serious side effects is far less than the complications when measles occurs. Therefore, vaccination is highly recommended.
<Comments on recent measles news>
You may have seen news of measles recently. This has been in the news due to the fact that the range of influence has increased, such as infection on the same airplane and traveling on the Shinkansen. However, before the new coronavirus infection, we have experienced measles cases as imported infectious diseases together with clusters around them in Japan every year. 367 cases were reported in 2014, around 150 cases per year from 2016 to 2018, and 630 cases in 2019. Measles is still a common infectious disease in Southeast Asia (Philippines, Indonesia, etc.), the Middle East, India, Central Asia, and Africa. There is no doubt that there will be an influx of measles cases in the future as there are many people-to-people exchanges. We would like everyone to take this opportunity to check your own measles vaccination status and to ensure that those who need it get vaccinated, although there may be a temporary shortage of vaccines. We hope that by doing so, we can protect the health of UT members. If you have any specific questions, please visit the internal medicine department of UT health center for doctor’s consultation. If you suspect that you may have come into contact with a measles patient, please call us before visiting the clinic.
＜Reference site for those who want to know more about measles＞① ②
- Japanese government (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare): https://www.mhlw.go.jp/seisakunitsuite/bunya/kenkou_iryou/kenkou/kekkaku-kansenshou/measles_eng/index.html
- National institute of infectious diseases：
https://www.niid.go.jp/niid/en/measles-e/655-idsc/2180-measles-e.html
