Measles, Covid, and HIV-1 Research

  • Don Mosier | Rimini Road

Measles. I was recently asked if older adults needed to get a booster shot of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine before travelling abroad. Here is the CDC recommendation: “People born before 1957 are generally considered immune to measles due to previous infection and may not need an MMR booster.”

 

“May not need“ leaves some room for doubt. A few observations may help, but you really should consult your physician to help make your personal decision.

  1. Natural infection with measles generates stronger and longer lasting immunity than the MMR vaccine.
  2. Over 95% of current US cases of measles have occurred in unvaccinated or unknown vaccine status individuals.
  3. The MMR vaccine is 95% protective. Individuals with impaired immune responses account for the 5% failure rate.

One way to help decide if you need a booster is to have your physician test for antibodies to measles. If yes, you’re probably good to go. If not, roll up your sleeve.

 

COVID. A new COVID variant called NB.1.8.1 is rising in prevalence in California and the U.S.  It has increased transmissibility, probably due to its better binding to the human receptor for the COVID virus. While it is hoped that the current COVID vaccine will help protect against this variant, data to support this optimistic view are lacking. Federal funding for new COVID vaccines has been halted, so it is highly unlikely that a new vaccine will be available in time for the 6-month booster recommended for those of us over 65. A booster shot with the current vaccine is still the best (and probably only) option.

 

HIV-1. The NIH has halted most of the grants funding basic and clinical research on the AIDS virus. This has local impacts on my former colleagues at the Scripps Research Institute and my daughter Sarah who works at the AIDS Research Institute at Duke University in North Carolina. The long-standing search for a vaccine to prevent transmission of the AIDS virus was closing in on success with an mRNA vaccine capable of inducing broadly neutralizing antibodies in early clinical trials in Africa. Funding for this critical work was halted by the NIH on April 30th, 2025. My colleague Dennis Burton, who heads one of two consortia for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Development (the other is at Duke), was quoted in the journal Science as saying this “couldn’t have happened at a worse time, because the recent clinical trials are very promising.” Talented scientists at Scripps and Duke will soon be looking for new jobs, and an over 20-year investment in vaccine research will be brought to an unjustified end. The vaccine denier RFK, Jr. has struck again, with more deadly consequences.

 

To add insult to injury, RFK, Jr. fired the entire CDC Vaccine Advisory Group on June 9th, an action he promised not to take during his confirmation hearings.

December 2025

In Brief