Why you need vaccine boosters for some diseases and not others as New York records first measles death in 30 years

A child in rural upstate New York has died after contracting measles, marking the state’s first known measles-associated death in more than 30 years.State officials announced on Monday that the unvaccinated child, who lived in Lewis County, died amid a historic outbreak of the highly contagious disease in the state.Though measles can infect anyone, the vast majority of global measles-related deaths occur in unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children under age 5, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).Part of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine, the measles shot is typically administered in two doses because some children don’t develop full immunity after the first.

Vaccination remains the best way to prevent measles and provides long-term, possibly lifelong immunity, with WHO estimating that immunization campaigns prevented 59 million deaths globally between 2000 and 2024.But if the measles vaccines offers such lasting protection, why are we encouraged to get flu and COVID-19 shots every year? And why are some vaccines one-and-done while others require annual updates and regular boosters?According to Dr.

Isaac P.Dapkins, an internal and pediatric specialist and chief medical officer of the Family Health Centers at NYU Langone, the answer boils down to two main factors: how much the particular infection changes over time and how long our immune system maintains protection after vaccination.The flu is a prime example of an infection in constant flux.

As it spreads from person to person, it undergoes small genetic changes through a process called antigenic drift, Dapkins told The Post.“These changes can alter the proteins on the surface of the virus, making it harder for our immune system to recognize and fight off new strains, even if we’ve been vaccinated or infected in the past,” he explained.Because influenza mutates so frequently, scientists worldwide continuously track circulating strains.Public health experts then use this data e...