https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/04/how-long-do-vaccines-last-surprising-answers-may-help-protect-people-longer is an article discussing how long immunity from vaccines lasts.
For example, immunity to tetanus and diptheria appears to be long lasting after vaccination, but immunity to pertussis appears to fade quickly.
How long títeres showing antibodies last can also depend on the individual. My MDs say that folks who have lung disease have their protection from pneumonia shorter than the general population and my lung docs recommend we get them every 5 years instead of only once or twice after turning 65.
Hmmm, timely question. D is proposing to spend the summer in Nepal and Osaka and is now looking at immunizations. Her health services center at school is helping her and they are recommending boosters for several of her childhood shots (and about a half dozen other that she didn’t need here in the US)
The old standard used to be that you needed a tetnus booster every ten years. The last time I was in a doctor’s office for a wound that would require a tetnus booster, they gave me a DPT shot instead. They said that my pertusis immunity was most likely too weak and there had been some recent pertusis outbreaks (NJ -maybe 4-5 years ago).
I think the answer is…it depends.
For international travel to certain places, boosters are recommended that otherwise are not recommended. For example, we needed a polio booster even though this is not likely recommended stateside (we were traveling to Africa).
DH also needed a second MMR because he never had a second dose, and never had MMR diseases.
I’m going to ask my primary doc about getting tested for measles immunity. I was vaccinated during the period of 1963-67 when some of the vaccines were ineffective and there’s no way to find out what kind I was given.
I saw this in an article about the recent outbreak in NY:
Many of us are old enough to have had the diseases as children … e.g. measles, mumps, chicken pox …
– Wonder how much immunity we have –
I never had mumps. I did have regular measles and rubella. I was given a MMR shot before i went to college…1969.
I didn’t need a booster when traveling to Africa.
My husband had mumps…and one MMR shot. He had to have the booster when we went to Africa.
We actually went to the international immunization clinic nearest to where we live. They have the info on what is required for overseas travel…and can get things like that polio booster shot…which is not something regular docs can as easily get, we are told.
But for those just wondering…doesn’t the CDC have a section on immunizations and recommendations?
Ugh, those travel clinics are expensive! I think it’s a racket - they charge for a thorough consultation even if you’ve been to a particular country multiple times. All I need to go to South Africa at this point are the malaria pills. Don’t charge me $500 for that! And insurance won’t cover it.
@MaineLonghorn our international immunization clinic visit was fully covered by Anthem BC/BS. Visit and shots. ETA…we did have a $10 office visit deductible each that we paid.
Those (costly) malaria pills, however, were not. I think there is a generic now…but there wasn’t in 2011.
We were going to developing countries in Africa in addition to South Africa. If that had been our destination, with no safari excursions, we would have needed very few shots. But where we were going (Rwanda) the requirements were more extensive. Plus after that, we were traveling to the EU, and we needed to prove we had the required immunizations so we weren’t bringing illnesses that might be transmitted in Africa to the EU.
Wow, you were lucky that it was covered!
Your immune system also changes as you age. Medicare now and info has repeats because of aging. Physician here and it makes sense.
I went to the county health department yesterday to ask these questions. I was born in 1963 and would’ve had one MMR vaccine, the nurse said. She said ONE case of a previously eradicated disease constitutes an “outbreak”. I was sort of surprised, since I assumed all those states NBC Nightly News keep showing would’ve had more than one. (I know some of them did)
She didn’t seem too concerned and said I could go to the dr. for a titer and see my immunity. Assume I’d be paying for that since we have a very high deductible.
I wish media would give more information on recommendations for those of us born post 1957. Nurse said it was assumed anyone older had had measles, mumps, etc. H was born in 1958 and had them.
For women…didn’t you have to show MMR immunity when you got pregnant? I did. My doc did a titer and I was totally immune…having had the measles and rubella…and a shot along the way too.
^Nope, not back in 1992 and 1994 when I was pregnant with my two kids. And that was here in Los Angeles, CA…
I was only asked about rubella before pregnancy. I have never had the mumps or the vaccine.
Here’s a nice piece on measles vaccination for our age group: https://www.scpr.org/blogs/health/2015/01/23/17845/i-ve-only-had-one-dose-of-the-measles-vaccine-what/
Apparently, some people can receive immunizations and develop no antibodies. Long story, but to sum it up, one of my children had a blocked saliva duct that made the side of her face swell up looking similar to the mumps. The dr said most likely not, especially since she had been fully immunized… Blood tests revealed not mumps, but equally revealed that she had no antibodies. He simply summed it up as “the immunization didn’t take.” I find that scary. You think you are protected but not.
I asked my dr to do a rubella titer in 1986 before we started trying to get pregnant and was given the rubella vaccine. I was pretty sure I had measles, not rubella, as a kid and the titer confirmed that recollection. OTOH, I’ve never had the mumps.