Measles cases have been rising in 2025, with outbreaks popping up in communities from coast to coast. The news has many parents asking: What can we do to stay safe in an outbreak—whether of measles, or anything else?
Shalini Sethi, M.D., a pediatrician at Henry Ford Health, explains the science behind disease outbreaks, and how to reduce your family’s risk.
What Is an Outbreak?
Germs are always around us, and infection rates naturally rise and fall over time. Some illnesses peak at certain times of the year; cases of the flu, for example, tend to climb in the winter months.
Outbreaks are different. “An outbreak is defined as an occurrence of more cases of a disease than is expected in a specific area (such as a school or a county), or in a particular time period (such as a given month),” Dr. Sethi explains.
Outbreaks aren’t always predictable, and you can’t avoid every place where germs spread. But that doesn’t mean you’re powerless.
Vaccines Save Lives
The most important thing you can do to prevent disease? Get vaccinated. Take measles—one of the most contagious viruses known to humans. When exposed to an infected person, 90% of unvaccinated people catch the disease. But two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine are highly effective at preventing measles, with about 97% efficacy.
Need A Pediatrician?
Vaccines are available to prevent a host of other serious diseases, too, including pertussis (whooping cough), hepatitis and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). To protect your family, Dr. Sethi says, it’s important to stay up to date on immunizations.
Unfortunately, vaccine rates have been declining, in part because of misinformation about the shots. One oft-repeated myth is that vaccines cause autism. But vaccines are safe, Dr. Sethi stresses. “We have the science to answer this question,” she says. “Many studies have been done, and there is no evidence to suggest that vaccines cause autism.”
Adjusting Immunization Schedules
Your pediatrician will provide a schedule for recommended childhood vaccinations. Yet some parents are worried about following that schedule, afraid of giving their child too many vaccines at once. Should you space them out over longer periods?
Absolutely not, Dr. Sethi says. Vaccination schedules recommended by groups such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have been proven safe. Refusing, delaying or using an alternative vaccination schedule leaves your child vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases.
On the other hand, parents might wonder if they can get vaccinations sooner than scheduled to protect their children during an outbreak. In some cases, that’s possible.
For instance, babies usually get their first MMR vaccine at one year old. “But if you’re traveling internationally, or there’s an outbreak in your community, the first dose can be safely given starting at 6 months old,” Dr. Sethi says. There’s no health risk from getting the dose ahead of schedule, she adds—but that likely means it would not be counted as one of the doses in the two-dose schedule, so the child would need a “repeat first dose” at 12 months of age.
Not all shots can be given early, though. It takes time before babies are old enough to complete the full series of scheduled immunizations. Until then, they are especially vulnerable to infectious diseases. That’s one reason it’s important for the adults and older children in their community to be vaccinated. “When most of the population is vaccinated, it creates ‘herd immunity’ that helps to protect the most vulnerable members of a community,” Dr. Sethi says.
Adult Vaccines and MMR Boosters
What about grown-ups? Are your childhood vaccines still effective? In many cases, yes. “If you’ve had two measles shots, you’re protected and don’t need a booster,” says Dr. Sethi.
But other vaccines do lose efficacy over time. Adults should get a tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (Tdap) or tetanus-diphtheria (Td) booster every 10 years, for example. Flu and COVID-19 boosters are recommended yearly. Many vaccines are also recommended for pregnant women, which help protect both moms and their babies from potentially serious diseases that can make them very sick.
Because recommendations vary from vaccine to vaccine, it’s a good idea to ask your doctor about any boosters you need. If you don’t have written records, doctors can measure your immunity with a blood test.
How to Avoid Infectious Diseases
Besides staying up to date on vaccinations, there are steps you can take to protect your family and your community during an outbreak.
- Wash up. Viruses can linger unseen on surfaces like doorknobs and school desks. Encourage everyone in your family to wash hands often, especially before eating, after using the bathroom and when coming home from an outing.
- Get the facts. For information on diseases and outbreaks, skip social media and AI chatbots. Look instead to trustworthy sources such as the CDC, the AAP or your state department of health, Dr. Sethi says.
- Consider masking. Whether or not to mask is a personal choice, but medical-grade masks are effective at stopping the spread of many airborne viruses like COVID-19. If there’s an outbreak in your community and you plan to spend time in a crowded venue, masking can reduce your risk.
- Stay home when you’re sick. Diseases spread one person at a time. Stay home when you’re ill and keep sick kids home from school or daycare. Ask friends and family members to let you know if they’re feeling under the weather. Reschedule if they have any symptoms—especially if you have a baby who is too young to be fully vaccinated.
- Talk to your doctor. If you have any questions or concerns about illnesses or vaccines, ask your pediatrician. Your doctor can also provide advice about what to do if you or your child was exposed to a sick person. In some cases, for example, an unvaccinated person can be protected if they receive the vaccine within a few days of exposure to the disease.
It’s natural to have questions, especially when it comes to the health of your family. And it’s never an imposition to reach out to your doctor to discuss it, Dr. Sethi says. “It’s what we’re here for,” she says.
Reviewed by Shalini Sethi, M.D., a pediatrician at Henry Ford Medical Center — Beck Road in Plymouth.
