Doctors Say 2 Measles Shots Protect Most Children, Warn of Immune Amnesia
Updated
Updated · MDJOnline.com · Aug 19
Doctors Say 2 Measles Shots Protect Most Children, Warn of Immune Amnesia
2 articles · Updated · MDJOnline.com · Aug 19
Summary
Two doses of the measles vaccine protect most children even when exposed to unvaccinated friends, doctors said, though no vaccine guarantees 100% protection.
97% effectiveness is the standard estimate for the two-dose regimen, which sharply lowers the risk of infection and severe illness compared with being unvaccinated.
Measles can also trigger immune amnesia, a phenomenon in which the virus erases part of the immune system’s memory and leaves patients more vulnerable to other infections after recovery.
That added risk is one reason doctors stress vaccination not only to prevent measles itself but also to avoid the broader immune damage the disease can cause.