David Springer

Thanks! Good catch - things that happen during formatting and production, oups. should be 2006-2009 and 2010-2013.

Dynamics of measles immunity from birth and following vaccination - Nature Microbiology Serological data modelling informs on immune interference from maternal antibodies on measles vaccine responses in infants and children.

There is a very high correlation of infant and maternal ab levels after birth. But the efficacy of a MMR booster is unclear unless measles ab levels are really low or negative. Currently, there is no official recommendation afaik but it might be worth considering.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

So, what have we learned? We need to close immunity gaps in young and middle-aged adults—and protect future generations. Even as an adult, now’s a great time to check if you’ve had 2 MMR doses. The goal: eliminate and eventually eradicate measles! #ImmunizationWeek

Nearly 40 million children susceptible to measles due to COVID-19 disruptions Nearly 40 million children are at risk of getting measles due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said ...

However, more than 40 million children missed their measles immunization during the pandemic, causing large measles outbreaks worldwide. As always, nobody is safe until everyone is safe!

news.un.org/en/story/202...

Is this due to the pandemic? Yes and no. In Austria, we don’t see major differences in immunity rates between children born before or during the pandemic—though it might still be too early to say for sure.

What about infants? They're partly protected by maternal antibodies after their birth—but for how long? This matters, since early vaccination can be less effective. We found that almost none of the infants older than 6 months were protected against measles!

While some individuals missed their vaccination, others may have 'lost' their immunity over time—since we know antibody levels can wane. Could that apply to measles too? To some extent, yes: antibody levels drop in the first years after vaccination, but then stabilize—classic exponential kinetics.

We analyzed measles antibody levels in >50,000 individuals born 1922-2021. Almost everyone born before the 70s was immune — likely the hard way: through survival of measles infection (there was no vaccination yet!). However, we found large immunity gaps (yellow) in those born in the last 3 decades!

Seroprevalence against measles, Austria, stratified by birth years 1922 to 2024 Background Vaccination programmes initiated in the early 1970s reduced the incidence of measles in Austria, which resulted in the interruption of endemic measles virus (MeV) circulation and the achiev...

In 2024, Austria experienced its largest measles outbreak in at least 24 years (542 cases - all over Austria, different age groups, several independent outbreaks!). So we wondered: is there an immunity gap in our population?

www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2...

Seroprevalence against measles, Austria, stratified by birth years 1922 to 2024 Background Vaccination programmes initiated in the early 1970s reduced the incidence of measles in Austria, which resulted in the interruption of endemic measles virus (MeV) circulation and the achiev...

www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2...