In the past two weeks, I have talked to two people who, after visiting the hospital for general cold/flu symptoms, were told that they needed to have an MMR vaccination because they were “low on measles antibodies”.
A few moments ago I received a call from the hospital where I had my health check done and was told that, when I pick my report up this week, I need to have a measles vaccination because I am “low on measles antibodies”.
Has anybody else heard of this kind of thing recently?
It is not recent, it is SOP, depending on the context. If you want an APRC or are applying for nationality, the G’ment health apointee will check that you have your MMR and other vaccinations as per schedule.
There is an immunization schedule for adults, too, anywhere in the world. Booster shots are requiired for certain illnesses but most are forgotten in our busy daily lives.
As part of a standard health check, I’d say they are just making sure there are no gaps in the coverage. They cannot afford a wildfire measles contagion. For example, if you are a teacher/student, you are one of teh recommended groups for “refills” as the masses attract the spread of all kinds of viruses.
MMR aftereffects were not pleasant, but I guess you can choose to have only one -rubella, let’s say, or in your case, measles- maybe, to diminish teh possibility of complications. Another thing is that it is also reccommended to have your Hepatitis shots, too, somewhere down the line, if you live/travel around here.
Thanks for your reply. It makes sense, even if the entire situation doesn’t quite as there aren’t booster shots required for measles. I haven’t met anybody who has had this happen before, as part of a routine health check, though I am the third person I know who has been required to get the vaccination in the past several weeks. I offered to show proof of vaccination but was told that wouldn’t suffice as my antibodies were low.
In regards to why vaccination/boosters are needed - and how unexpectedly those critters crawl back in:
From CNA
Proof of vaccination doesn’t mean anything. Your vaccination from when you were a kid is mostly ineffective now (most foreigners still have enough antibodies though) because you don’t still have enough antibodies to fight it if you came into contact with an infected person. Perhaps they are being too proactive but there is some logic to it. What I find puzzling is that HepA/B vaccination is not considered important at all (at least by the doctor I visited) considering how proactive they are being with the MMR.
I had to get a MMR booster about 3 weeks ago following my annual health examination as my antibody blood count was low. Ha, I have had all 3 diseases as a kid as well as vaccination shots, and now again. They did give me a certificate as a proof of vacination, but the sign on the wall in the hospital says they will check in your blood test and if you are low in the antibody count or in the “Grey Zone”, you will be required to have a booster. I didn’t have any side effects.
Got a check for measles antibodies during my ARC health-check, and yep I also have to have a booster.
Bit annoyed i didn’t have this for free in UK before I came to Taiwan, but it’s only going to cost me $1000 dollars and honestly Taiwanese doctors seem pretty efficient so far (compared to NHS in Uk at least), so I trust it’ll be fairly quick and stress free.
Here we are in 2025, thinking about measles. Talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. 
Guy
Lest we forget the “victory” part noted above: this line graph may be helpful to remember what happened in the United States before some, uh, “changes” took place in health policy recommendations.
Guy
The United States reported more than 2,000 measles cases in 2025, federal data shows, a higher annual total than the country has seen in decades.
Ongoing outbreaks — particularly in the upstate region of South Carolina and along the border between Arizona and Utah — continue to add dozens of cases each week, threatening the measles elimination status that the US has held for a quarter-century.
As of December 30, there have been 2,065 confirmed measles cases in the US in 2025, according to data published Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The last time there were more than 2,000 cases reported in one year was in 1992, just a couple years after health leaders updated recommendations to say that children should get two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine instead of just one.
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known, but the MMR vaccine offers highly effective protection. One dose is 93% effective against measles infection, and two doses are 97% effective, according to the CDC.
Anyone here gone to a hospital to check if their measles vaccine is still effective and/or just get a new MMR vaccine? I had the vaccination as a child, but I wouldn’t mind getting checked for the antibodies.
I see upthread that the ARC health check may have tested for this, but that was so long ago I don’t remember, and probably don’t have any records.
I had this checked when I went in for my APRC health check (mandatory at the time of my application). They said if I wanted to pass that test, I’d need to get the MMR shot which honestly I had never heard of. I said “OK.” And that was that.
Guy
Went to the travel department (not sure about the exact name…) of NTUH around 2 years ago or so and told them I’d be traveling to Europe.
They told me they’d recommend an MMR booster (I also specifically asked for a TDAP booster which was the initial reason for going there - unlike in Europe, they don’t seem to give that one every 10 years by default). Received both on the same day (self-paid, not very expensive).
Didn’t bother with an antibody check.
