SYNOPSIS
When young adults fully vaccinated in childhood with two doses of measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine are given a third dose, measles antibody levels revert to near-baseline levels within a year.
TITLE
Measles virus neutralizing antibody response, cell-mediated immunity, and IgG antibody avidity before and after a third dose of measles-mumps-rubella vaccine in young adults
Citation
Fiebelkorn AP, Coleman LA, Belongia EA, et al. Measles virus neutralizing antibody response, cell-mediated immunity, and IgG antibody avidity before and after a third dose of measles-mumps-rubella vaccine in young adults. Journal of Infectious Diseases;2016;213(7):1115-23.
Summary
When fully vaccinated young adults who received two doses of measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine in childhood are given a third dose (MMR3), measles antibody levels revert to near-baseline levels within a year. In this study—after just one month—MMR3 failed to produce any “substantial improvements in the quality of the immune response” for 96.8% of subjects. Individuals who had low or negative vaccine-induced antibodies at baseline were more likely to remain low or negative both one month and one year after the MMR booster, suggesting that “inherent biology” influences whether individuals respond to measles vaccination. Those who received their first MMR dose before 15 months of age also had significantly lower antibody levels later in life. The CDC and FDA researchers conclude that “MMR3 is unlikely to solve the problem of waning immunity in the U.S.”