With the recent outbreak of measles, a Feinberg professor suggested adults get the measles vaccine if they don’t know if they are up to date. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 60 percent of the people affected by measles are over 20 years old.

Dr. Tina Tan, who studies adult vaccine use, said adults transmit many infectious diseases, including measles. Infants, pregnant women and adults with weaker immune systems are at the highest risk of complications from the disease.

“One of the reasons for adults to get vaccinated is to prevent them from getting the disease and also to protect young infants who they may be around who are too young to be vaccinated,” she said in a news release. “It is imperative that adults stay up-to-date on their vaccines and receive the vaccines they need.”

Tan leads a study to examine the role of pharmacists in increasing vaccine rates in adults. She said adult preventative vaccine rates are low or stagnant and many health care providers don’t give adult vaccines because they are not comfortable or because of cost issues.

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