Skip to main content
About IDPH

Measles Guidance for Schools

IDPH requests that each school participate in the following action items to help avoid a measles outbreak in Illinois schools

  1. Review the immunization records of your students.
    1. Illinois requires one dose of MMR for day care students aged ≥12 months and pre-school aged students, and two doses of MMR vaccine for students in grades K through 12, unless they have other presumptive evidence of measles immunity, which includes laboratory evidence of immunity or laboratory confirmation of disease.
      1. There may be some students who received a dose of MMR at 6-11 months of age. This is considered an extra dose and does not count toward the above MMR immunization requirement. These students must still complete the two-dose series starting at age 12 months.
      2. Some students may have received their second dose of MMR prior to turning 4 years old. As long as the first dose was administered at or after 12 months of age and the second dose was given after a minimum of four weeks (28 days) from the first dose, this second dose should be considered valid for their school requirements.
      3. Note that if MMRV was used, the minimum interval between doses of the MMRV vaccine is three months.
  2. Schools should maintain susceptibility lists by disease category, including the names of students and staff who are not fully vaccinated. In the setting of any exposure, those who are not protected (or non-immune to measles) would warrant post-exposure prophylaxis with vaccine within 72 hours of exposure, which is why having this information at baseline would be critical to minimizing further infections. This would also be necessary if students and staff need to be excluded from school during an outbreak. This includes students who are not fully vaccinated due to a religious exemption, medical exemption, McKinney-Vento exception, or are on an approved schedule or non-compliant with the measles vaccination.
  3. Follow up with students and staff who are not immune to measles. Here are suggested materials to share with families. Remind them of the school's exclusion procedure in case of exposure.
    1. MMR (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella) VIS What You Need to Know (Current Translations)
    2. Use family-friendly infographics to communicate with families about measles and MMR through the AAP Immunization Discussion Guides. Available in English, Korean, simplified Chinese, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
    3. CDC: Measles Isn’t Just a Little Rash Infographic
    4. Measles Questions & Answers
  4. Review your school policies and the IDPH Administrative Code Part 690, Section 690.520 MEASLES, SUSPECT, PROBABLE OR CONFIRMED regarding the exclusion of susceptible students and personnel. Remind families of students who are not fully vaccinated of the school’s outbreak control exclusion procedure.
  5. If you learn that any students in your school have measles, immediately contact the local health department (LHD). If unable to reach your LHD, call IDPH 217-782-2016; after hours 217-782-2016 to ensure that control measures are implemented.
  6. Vaccines are available in Illinois through publicly funded programs: Vaccines for Children and Adult Immunization Programs. The Vaccine Locator Dashboard provides users with vaccine availability and directions to provider sites.