The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning Americans to make sure they're fully protected against the measles before traveling internationally this summer.
The agency issued a health advisory Wednesday urging that people make certain they've had two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella, or MMR, vaccine at least two weeks before traveling to areas of the world with active measles outbreaks. Those two doses provide 97% protection against the virus, according to the CDC. But an unvaccinated person is at extremely high risk of getting sick even with brief exposure.
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A person "can get measles just by being in a room where a person with measles has been, even up to two hours after that person has left," according to the CDC’s website.
It's recommended that children get their first dose at 12 to 15 months, and the second dose around the time the child starts kindergarten, at age 4, 5 or 6. Teens and adults who have never had the shots should get two doses at least 28 days apart, according to the CDC.
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