More Oklahomans have been getting vaccinated against measles since cases started to be reported in Oklahoma and neighboring states.
Between Jan. 1 and April 8, 2024, nearly 24,000 MMR shots were administered according to data provided by the Oklahoma State Department of Health. In the same time frame for 2025, that number increased by 25% to almost 30,000 shots, according to the Oklahoma State Immunization Information System, a registry of electronic vaccine records.
The first case of measles in Oklahoma was reported March 11 by OSDH. There are currently 12 cases of measles, 9 confirmed and 3 probable, with exposure sites in Oklahoma City, Claremore, Owasso and Weatherford. All cases are in unvaccinated individuals.
Nearby, an outbreak in Texas and New Mexico has sickened over 620 people and killed three. Oklahoma’s initial measles cases had reported links to these outbreaks. Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports over 700 measles cases in 25 states.
Erica Rankin, a spokesperson for the Health Department, said in a statement Tuesday that the agency has observed a “concurrent growing rise” in interest in the “MMR vaccine information, administration of MMR, and immunization records at our local county health departments.” But state health officials stopped short of directly linking the increase in vaccinations to the rise in measles cases.
The Health Department provided Oklahoma Voice with data recorded in OSIIS, which does not include all vaccinations given in the state, only those entered into the system.
Dr. Mary Clarke, former president of the Oklahoma State Medical Association, said all “Medicaid-driven” vaccines are required to be reported and many providers choose to report other vaccines. While some pharmacies and clinics may not report vaccinations, OSIIS is still the most accurate and complete dataset available on vaccinations records in the state, she said.
Clarke, a family medicine physician in Stillwater, said she and all of her colleagues have experienced more interest than normal in the MMR vaccine, particularly among adults. She said she’s had five to 10 people reach out per week.
“I would say the vast majority of my pediatric patients are fully vaccinated so I’m personally not seeing a lot of parents calling for their children,” she said. “But I have a lot of adults calling on for themselves, asking about themselves, asking about their grandchildren or great-grandchildren, and how to keep them as safe as possible.”
Receiving the MMR vaccine as an adult is equally as effective as being vaccinated as recommended in early childhood, Clarke said. The vaccine is recommended for children at 12 to 15 months of age and again at four to six years of age, according to the Health Department.
The recommended age is so young because children are at “very high risk” of contracting measles, Clarke said.
The MMR vaccine is 97% effective when given two vaccines, she said. Clarke said measles is “extraordinarily” contagious and can be spread airborne.
“If someone is infected, we don’t go around just giving people antibiotics for measles,” she said. “There really is no good treatment. It’s supportive care only.”
Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence.
