Measles immunity from pregnant mothers may not stick around in infants for long

Immune protection against measles that pregnant mothers pass on to infants in the womb may not extend for as long as previously thought, according to new research. Researchers already knew that babies born to women vaccinated against the disease — as opposed to those born to women who contracted the disease — lost protection quicker. But the new study, which used blood samples from babies of different ages under 1, finds that that protection could disappear as soon as one month after birth. And by six months of age, all the babies had become vulnerable to measles. The findings underscore the importance of herd immunity, where high vaccination rates in a community protect vulnerable people against the disease. “One of the best ways to protect young infants is to make sure those around them are vaccinated,” the study authors tell STAT.