How do I check if I or my child is protected against measles?

In Australia, two doses of MMR vaccine are given routinely at 12 months and 18 months. You can check vaccination records through the Australian Immunisation Register via myGov or Medicare Online. Adults uncertain about their childhood history can ask their GP about a blood test (measles serology) to confirm immunity. Adults born before 1966 are generally considered immune through prior natural infection.

Can adults get vaccinated against measles if they missed doses?

Yes. Catch-up vaccination is available through your GP if you are not sure whether you received two doses of MMR. The MMR vaccine is a live vaccine and cannot be given during pregnancy — if you are planning a pregnancy, checking and completing your vaccination status beforehand is worth doing. Speak with your GP to review your individual history and immunisation register record.

Australia's measles resurgence: the post-COVID vaccination gap

What just happened

Australia recorded 181 measles cases in 2025 — a climb from near-zero in 2021, when COVID border closures inadvertently halted international transmission. In 2026 the trend has continued upward. NSW Health notified 60 cases between January 2025 and early March 2026, with 34 acquired overseas and the majority linked to travel through Southeast Asia. A WA Health measles alert issued in 2026 identified new metropolitan exposure sites in Perth’s northern suburbs — including Wangara, Wanneroo and Ellenbrook — a shift from the predominantly Pilbara-regional pattern of the 2025 outbreak.

The RACGP has issued a surge warning, noting exposure sites appearing in hospitals, schools, and community venues across multiple states.

Why does this matter more than a routine infectious disease notice? Measles is not a mild childhood illness to manage through. Its complication profile is real: pneumonia in roughly 1 in 20 cases, encephalitis in around 1 in 1000, and — rarely but invariably fatal — subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, a degenerative brain disease that can emerge years after the original infection. Measles also causes “immune amnesia” — a transient suppression of broader immune memory that can leave the person vulnerable to unrelated infections for months after recovery.

The Australian Immunisation Handbook documents the full complication burden and the reproductive number: R0 is estimated at 12 to 18, meaning a single infectious person in a susceptible population can transmit to 12–18 contacts. That transmission rate is why measles requires 95% two-dose MMR coverage to maintain herd immunity.

Before the pandemic, Australia consistently surpassed the 95% coverage target for one-year-olds. Post-COVID, coverage has dropped to as low as 80% in some areas. The decline is not primarily active refusal — it reflects disrupted immunisation schedules during lockdowns, families who moved and lost contact with their GP, and catch-up appointments that were never rescheduled.

The both-and

The MMR vaccine is highly effective and has a decades-long safety record in Australia. The post-pandemic coverage gap is real. Both are true at the same time.

Two doses of MMR provide around 97% protection against measles — among the highest efficacy rates in the vaccine arsenal. The reasons to vaccinate have not changed. Australia has one of the world’s most rigorous pharmacovigilance systems; the Immunisation Handbook schedule is reviewed against current epidemiology and updated when evidence warrants it.

The coverage slide is real and it has consequences. A 15-percentage-point shortfall below the herd immunity threshold, in specific geographic areas, creates conditions for sustained local transmission every time the virus arrives from a high-prevalence region. Southeast Asia has ongoing measles circulation. Australia’s inbound traveller volume is large. The maths of transmission means this gap will periodically produce clusters until coverage is restored.

A specific framing worth naming: some voices argue that natural measles infection confers “better” immunity than the vaccine, or that measles is a benign childhood experience. The evidence does not support either position. Natural infection does produce immunity — but at the cost of the complication risks described above, and through the mechanism of immune amnesia. There is no credible clinical argument for accepting natural measles infection as a path to immunity when an effective, well-characterised vaccine exists.

Where the nuance is genuinely warranted: the coverage gap is an access and continuity problem as much as it is a hesitancy problem. Catch-up is available — but requires health systems to actively reach families who fell through the gap, not just make the service available for those already engaged with regular GP care.

2 cents

For parents of children under five: check the Australian Immunisation Register via myGov. The two-dose MMR schedule is at 12 months and 18 months. If either dose was missed or delayed during the pandemic years, catch-up is straightforward through your GP or local immunisation service.

For women planning pregnancy: MMR is a live vaccine and cannot be given during pregnancy. Checking your immune status before conception — and completing vaccination beforehand if needed — is a simple step. Your GP can access your immunisation register record and, if it is incomplete, arrange a measles serology test to confirm immunity.

For anyone who has recently travelled through Southeast Asia, Melanesia, or another region with current measles activity: if fever, cough, runny nose, and a spreading rash develop within three weeks of return, contact your GP before attending the clinic in person — to allow appropriate infection control precautions.

This is general information about vaccination and public health. Individual vaccination history and immunity should be discussed with your GP.

Verdict

Verdict: yes — worth knowing about.

The measles resurgence is an active story, not a hypothetical one. The coverage gap is real and the solution — checking records and catching up on missed doses — is accessible through your GP.