From: Barbara Lamar (altamira@texas.net)
Date: Wed Sep 26 2001 - 13:17:06 MDT
Ralph Lewis wrote:
> One question I had was how long the immunity lasts. If you were vaccinated
> as an
> infant and then re-vaccinated as a young adult and the second did not take
> (no second scar) does that mean you had adequate protection from
> smallpox at
> the time of the second vaccination? And does that provide any
> indication of
> protection as an adult?
I called the immunization division of my state's department of health. The
woman I talked to said that there is some residual immunity even after ten
years (one might get the disease but would have a milder case than someone
who had never been vaccinated) and that a 2nd vaccination is thought to
strenghten the immunity, though she didn't know of any specific research
done on this. I was first vaccinated when I was a small child and again when
I was in my mid 20's and visited a country where small pox had not yet been
eradicated. I had no reaction to the second vaccination, which indicated I
was still immune after more than 20 years.
I was interested in getting a vaccination for my daughter, who was born
after small pox was eradicated world-wide and was told that there is no
serum available for the general public. None at all, not for any price, not
anywhere in the world.
I asked if cow pox still exists "in the wild" and didn't get a clear answer.
Barbara
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