Which type of vaccine is typically considered to provide long-lasting immunity?

Live attenuated vaccines are considered to provide long-lasting immunity because they contain a weakened form of the pathogen that can still replicate and provoke a strong immune response without causing the disease in healthy individuals. This mimics a natural infection, prompting the immune system to produce a robust response, including both antibody production and memory cell formation. As a result, individuals who receive live attenuated vaccines often have long-lasting immunity that may last for many years, sometimes even for life, without the need for booster doses.

In contrast, inactivated vaccines contain killed pathogens and typically elicit a shorter-lived immune response, often requiring booster shots to maintain immunity. Subunit vaccines use only specific pieces of the pathogen to stimulate an immune response, which can also result in shorter-lasting immunity and may necessitate boosters. DNA vaccines, while promising and showing potential for longevity, are still largely under research and may not yet provide the same duration of immunity seen in live attenuated vaccines.