Aug 1, 2008 4:48 pm US/Eastern
Experts Examine Whether Adults Are Over-Vaccinated
(KDKA)
Matthew Lewis is a med student who has had to be vaccinated against some pretty exotic diseases.
"Yellow fever and the smallpox," says Lewis, "were both because of exposures I had in the lab."
He's also had some common booster shots, "The tetanus was for a nail that I got driven into my hand."
After routine immunizations as children, adults are supposed to get a tetanus booster every 10 years. Now, that practice is raising questions.
"This is without knowing really how long immunity is maintained after these initial booster shots and so the question is why every ten years do you get a booster shot?" says Mark Slifka, Ph.D., who researches this area.
Researchers at Oregon Health and Science University are checking blood samples for antibodies to see how long immunity lasts after a vaccination.
"Tetanus and diphtheria are ones that we were able to look at the most closely and we're hoping to look at other vaccines as well," Slifka says.
So far, the findings suggest that adults may be over-vaccinated. For example, immunity after a tetanus booster can last decades longer than once thought.
"Maybe we need to re-evaluate the vaccine schedule that we're using here in the U.S. and maybe change it from once every 10 years to once every 30 years," he guesses.
Researchers say being over-vaccinated isn't harmful. It just may be unnecessary. The study could lead to a simple blood test to check your immunity.
"Based on that information, we determine, yeah, it's time for your tetanus shot or, you know, you're fine for measles, mumps, so you don't need any boosters in that respect."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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