Tag Archives: immunity

Measles

According to the WHO, up to 15% of children fail to develop immunity to the first dose, which is why a booster dose is recommended. Most babies receive their first dose around 1 year; the second is given usually before kindergarten. “Protection” is supposed to last up to 11 years. This means that assuming a child actually gains immunity (some will not even after 2 doses), it will have worn off completely by 16 years of age. The vast majority of adults in this country are not protected (yet we haven’t seen measles outbreaks among these adults, have we?). Also according to the WHO, vitamin A supplements and adequate nutrition are key to preventing measles and complications.

Polio

According to the WHO, vitamin A also helps to prevent deaths and other complications from polio. 95% of people who get polio, though, show absolutely no symptoms; only 1 – 2% ever develop paralytic polio (and less than 1% of these are permanently affected). A single dose of the vaccine provides almost no immunity, which is why 4 are recommended; 99% of people should be “protected” after 3 doses. Length of protection is unknown, but thought to be “many years.” (This is really untestable since there are no wild cases in the U.S.) Continue reading →