How long are we immune?
Measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox—childhood diseases against which many of us have been immunized.
But the new worry is that since there is no natural "booster" shot for these diseases, older adults may find themselves unexpectedly vulnerable to them. It seems no one knows for sure how long immunity from such diseases will last. That's according to a story at The Daily Gleaner.
University of Minnesota epidemiologist Michael T. Osterholm (pictured) says scientists should be doing long-term immunity studies—following groups of people for decades—in the way cancer researchers track groups of people to try to discern what causes cancer.
"That would help us understand at what point does the level of protection drop for a population. Not any one individual," he says.
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