Vaccinations Aren't Needed as Frequently as Recommended

Do Americans get too many vaccinations? In a recent press release, researchers at Oregon Health & Science University found that people in America get vaccinations without needing them.

Researchers determined that when we get a vaccination against many different diseases, the protection provided by that vaccination lasts far longer than had been previously estimated. Therefore, if our body is protected against a specific virus and we get a booster shot, the booster vaccine is not actually needed.

In addition to being over-vaccinated, vaccines are also expensive. Simply changing the recommendation concerning when booster shots are needed would save millions of dollars in unnecessary health care costs.

Blood analyzed for protection against several viruses
Blood samples were analyzed and evaluated to see whether or not the blood showed evidence of providing protection against specific diseases. Researchers checked for protection against chickenpox (Varicella-zoster virus), diphtheria, measles, mononucleosis (Epstein-Barr virus), mumps, rubella, and tetanus.

Findings
The researchers determined that protection against several different viruses remain in our bodies for years, if not decades.

Tetanus
Many people are currently advised to get a tetanus vaccine or booster shot anywhere between every five to 10 years. Yet, researchers determined that tetanus protection lasts for decades.

Measles, mumps, and rubella
These viruses are generally thought of as childhood illnesses. In years past, children who came down with these viruses were generally protected for life. It was extremely rare to hear of a person who got a second case of measles, mumps, or rubella. This indicates that virus protection against measles, mumps, and rubella is good for many decades, if not for one's entire life.

Recommendations
"We want to emphasize that proper vaccination is vital for protecting people against infectious disease. We also need to mention that over-vaccinating the population poses no health or safety concerns - it may just be unnecessary under certain circumstances. What our study found was that the lifespan of protective immunity for certain vaccines is much longer than previously thought," said Mark Slifka, Ph.D.

Slifka continued, "So what does this mean? Based on this data and other studies, we may want to consider adjusting some of our recommended vaccination schedules. Doing so may reduce the number of required shots that are administered each year in this country while at the same time help extend limited health care resources."

Mark Slifka, Ph.D., is an associate scientist at the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute with joint appointments at the Oregon National Primate Research Center and the department of molecular microbiology and immunology in the OHSU School of Medicine.

Other countries
Sweden is one of many other countries that have changed their vaccination policies. Rather than recommend getting a booster vaccination once every ten years, they now recommend that booster vaccinations be given once every 30 years. Even though they increased the time for booster shots from 10 to 30 years, they have not experienced an increase in the number of tetanus infections.

Funding
The United States Public Health Service provided funding for this study. Results of this study have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Source:
http://www.ohsu.edu/ohsuedu/newspub/releases/110707vaccinate.cfm