Once an individual has received a measles jab, they are usually considered protected against measles disease for their entire life. The measles vaccine is one of the most potent vaccines in our armamentarium today. But this is not the case with most other vaccines. One needs to take several boosters for a long protection. Why is this the case?
We recently published a review of 34 currently licensed vaccines for the duration of their protective immunity, and found that only five vaccines provide long-lasting protection spanning more than 20 years and only three provide lifelong protection. Of these 34 vaccines, 15 provide 5-20 years of protection, whereas a similar number of other shots offer short-term protection that lasts around five years or less.
More importantly, barring a very few, most of the new-generation vaccines have a short duration of protection.
