Well that was fast. We were just talking about RFK Jr.’s recent comments on the measles outbreak in several southern states, mainly Texas, and how those comments were dangerous. The HHS Secre…
The MMR vaccine is highly effective with 93% protection after one dose and 97% after a second. MMR is a live attenuated vaccine and is not recommended for pregnant people, very young children, and immunocompromised individuals, and thus, these groups are at particular risk. Measles causes pneumonia in 1 of 20 cases, encephalitis in 0·5–1 per 1000, and is fatal in 1–3 per 1000. By contrast, adverse events after vaccination are usually mild and self-limiting; 1 per 3000–4000 vaccinated children develop febrile seizures, 1 in 40 000 develop immune thrombocytopenic purpura, and three cases of inclusion body encephalitis have been reported after vaccination. Overall, the rate of serious adverse events after vaccination is substantially lower than after infection. Furthermore, measles infection leads to broad immune amnesia—that is, diminished immune responses to other pathogens. The virus can directly infect memory B and T cells, and studies in children 2 months after measles infection have found that 11–73% of the preexisting antibody repertoire vanished.
From The Lancet:
The MMR vaccine is highly effective with 93% protection after one dose and 97% after a second. MMR is a live attenuated vaccine and is not recommended for pregnant people, very young children, and immunocompromised individuals, and thus, these groups are at particular risk. Measles causes pneumonia in 1 of 20 cases, encephalitis in 0·5–1 per 1000, and is fatal in 1–3 per 1000. By contrast, adverse events after vaccination are usually mild and self-limiting; 1 per 3000–4000 vaccinated children develop febrile seizures, 1 in 40 000 develop immune thrombocytopenic purpura, and three cases of inclusion body encephalitis have been reported after vaccination. Overall, the rate of serious adverse events after vaccination is substantially lower than after infection. Furthermore, measles infection leads to broad immune amnesia—that is, diminished immune responses to other pathogens. The virus can directly infect memory B and T cells, and studies in children 2 months after measles infection have found that 11–73% of the preexisting antibody repertoire vanished.