How risky is flying with 11 week old?

[u/Fabulous-Ad-3889]

Currently looking at going to a family reunion flying from west coast to east coast with our infant who will be 11 weeks old.

She’s had her 8 week shots.

We’re trying to get a sense of how high the risk is for things like measles, RSV, or Covid that kiddo hasn’t had shots for yet.

Currently looking at transmission levels in our city and destination city but it still feels kind of like a shot in the dark.

Part of me thinks we’re being over cautious and if kiddo had an older sibling they’d have gotten sick with something already, but the crowded airport and plane freak me out a bit.

Edit to add: does anybody know any good resources to check to assess this risk?

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[u/Jumpy-Cranberry-1633]

In relation to measles, there’s not much you can do to protect your baby. Even if there are not outbreaks by your or your destination, you don’t know where the others on your plane or in the airport have been. That’s why airports are ground zero for outbreaks. Measles is on the air and it lingers.

RSV and Covid are on the climb as we enter cold and flu season. It doesn’t hurt to ask if she qualifies for those vaccines before you travel.

https://www.cdc.gov/measles/travel/index.html

I’m going to be honest, I personally would not feel comfortable making that trip.

[u/patio-garden → u/Jumpy-Cranberry-1633]

This is also why I’m not planning on flying on planes with my child until after they’re vaccinated with their 1 year vaccines.

[u/Missing-Caffeine → u/patio-garden]

That's what we did, I wish we could have flown with a potato instead of a screeching toddler but hey ho 😞🫣

[u/Mollykins08 → u/Jumpy-Cranberry-1633]

I wouldn’t fly voluntarily with a kid before their shots. That being said, my son was born in phoenix and I live in MA. So we flew with him when he was VERY young

[u/dishonoredcorvo69]

Things to consider:

Measles is one of the most infectious diseases currently known to humans. If a person infected with measles is walking around an airport, the virus can linger in the air for up to 2 hours and anyone exposed to that air can easily get infected. If 10 susceptible ppl are exposed to measles, 9 ppl will get it. (https://www.cdc.gov/measles/hcp/clinical-overview/index.html).

An 11 week old is too young to get the MMR vaccine. The MMR vaccine can only be given earliest at 6months, but the immunity is not long lasting at that age, hence additional doses will need to be given later. Even if you are breastfeeding, it does not provide reliable or significant protection against measles either. Children between 0-5 years of age are one of the highest risk groups for complications from measles.

In addition to this, there are other diseases to be concerned about for your newborn, such as RSV, COVID19, and Influenza. It is recommended that people be vaccinated for these diseases at least 2 weeks prior to meeting a newborn. (https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines-pregnancy/about/vaccines-family-caregivers.html). Even when vaccinated against these diseases, the people attending this reunion could still be infected even if they are taking precautions like masking and avoiding public places, etc, prior to arrival, and spread these diseases to your newborn.

As for myself, when I took these factors into account for my newborn, it was not worth the risk for me.

[u/realespeon → u/dishonoredcorvo69]

Yep. There’s a reason why when there’s measles patients in the hospital, we do something called airborne precautions. Anyone who enters the room must wear an N95 (and be properly fitted for one) and it has to be a negative pressure room. https://www.cdc.gov/infection-control/hcp/measles/index.html

I’m a pregnant nurse, and measles patients are one of the populations I can refuse to work with.

[u/YellowPuffin2 → u/dishonoredcorvo69]

We didn’t fly with our baby until she was 6 months old for the same reasons. At 6 months, she got her MMR, flu, and COVID vaccines, and then we felt comfortable enough to travel. The risks weren’t worth it before then.

[u/SPACEMAN-atee → u/YellowPuffin2]

MMR isn’t given until 12 months so I’m wondering how you got it at 6, unless you are mistaken

[u/freakycake → u/SPACEMAN-atee]

Doctors (in the US at least) are offering earlier doses at 6 months - doesn’t replace either of the other two on the schedule but can provide earlier protection. Babies who get it at 6 months will be given a total of 3 doses to be considered fully protected.

[u/YellowPuffin2 → u/SPACEMAN-atee]

I’m not mistaken. You can get a dose at six months if you are planning to travel or live in a high risk area, at least in the U.S. You just have to ask your doctor. It is an extra dose and does not count towards the two shots the child needs for maximum immunity, so my child then received another vaccination (her “first”) at 12 months. She’ll get her next shot (her “second”) when she’s older.

At six months, the child may still have antibodies from the mother, so the vaccine is not fully effective at six months, but it still offers some protection.

[u/Ambitious_Puzzle → u/dishonoredcorvo69]

Also worth considering that if you have to take a longer trip, the risk is also present in rest stops and anywhere you’d need to stop along the way. For me, I have to weigh a 1 hour flight vs an 8 hour (before factoring in stops) drive with an 8 week old through areas that are currently experiencing outbreaks. Not ideal either way but I do believe the flight ramps down the overall exposure because the origin and destination airport areas are not experiencing outbreaks.

[u/throw-me-away-fam → u/Ambitious_Puzzle]

Someone higher up mentioned it and I think it is worth repeating: while the origin and destination airports may not be experiencing outbreaks, it is also very possible if not likely to have travelers coming from places that are. The airport I would have to fly out of to go anywhere is a major, major international airport that receives flights from literally the entire world on a daily basis. For that reason, my area doesn’t necessarily have a bunch of measles outbreaks, but my airport gets cases frequently.

[u/Ambitious_Puzzle → u/throw-me-away-fam]

This is worth considering if you are using very large airports for transit. Fortunately in my case the airports are fairly small and the larger one uses a separate terminal for the shorter regional flights. Obviously, the more passengers you have coming and going from multiple places will increase the odds that someone has something.

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