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Measles Virus Vaccine Blog

Blog (8)

Measles Deaths Falling Worldwide

Posted 23 Apr 2012 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, April 23 – Deaths from measles fell 74 percent worldwide between 2000 and 2010, but progress is still short of the World Health Organization's target, health officials reported Monday. "This is one of the most remarkable victories in the history of public health," said Anthony Lake, executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), during a morning press briefing, while calling for increased vaccination efforts. The WHO, which aimed to cut measles deaths by 90 percent between 2000 and 2010, said India – with the world's highest rate of measles deaths – and Africa have offset the considerable gains made elsewhere. In the United States, which since 2008 has had no reported measles deaths, 222 cases of measles were reported in 2011 – the most in 15 years. Nearly all stemmed from foreign travel, and a majority of those who developed the disease had not been ... Read more

Measles Vaccines Won't Raise Seizure Risk in Young Kids: Study

Posted 2 Apr 2012 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, April 2 – Measles vaccines don't increase the risk of febrile seizures in children ages 4 to 6, according to a new study. Febrile seizures are brief, fever-related convulsions that are not fatal and do not lead to brain damage, epilepsy or other seizure disorders. The study, conducted by the Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center and funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, looked at data from nearly 87,000 children ages 48 to 83 months who received the measles-mumps-rubella-chickenpox (MMRV) vaccine; the MMR vaccine plus the varicella vaccine for chickenpox, administered separately but on the same day; or either the MMR or varicella vaccine alone. There was no increased risk of febrile seizures among the children during the six weeks after they received any of the vaccinations, according to the study, which appears in the current issue of the journal ... Read more

Too Few American Adults Getting Needed Vaccinations: CDC

Posted 2 Feb 2012 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, Feb. 2 – Each year, some 45,000 Americans die from diseases that could have been prevented by vaccines, health officials said Thursday. Despite this, the number of American adults who get needed vaccines remains low, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "There were some modest increases in coverage, but for very few vaccines," said Dr. Carolyn B. Bridges, associate director of adult immunization at the CDC and co-author of the report. "Coverage is much lower than we would like to see it." The data was published in the Feb. 3 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. According to the report, 2010 (the latest year covered by the report) saw only a small increase in the rate of uptake for just three vaccines. The rate of the tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccination increased 1.6 percent, to 8.2 percent. Tdap ... Read more

Doctors in a Bind When Parents Want to Delay, Skip Vaccines

Posted 28 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, Nov. 28 – Mistrust of childhood vaccines is causing some parents to request "alternative" schedules from doctors, either delaying or skipping some shots. And a new study suggests that most pediatricians are willing to go along with these requests – up to a point. "Parents seem to be regularly requesting alternative childhood immunization schedules," noted co-author Dr. Douglas John Opel, an acting assistant professor in the University of Washington's department of pediatrics. However, he added, "there needs to be more research into the effectiveness and safety of these schedules." The report is published in the Nov. 28 online edition of Pediatrics. The issue of parents ignoring standard guidelines on childhood vaccination schedules is worrying to many experts. One study, published in the November issue of Pediatrics, found that more than one in 10 parents in the United States ... Read more

Vaccinations Aren't Just for Kids

Posted 16 Sep 2011 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, Sept. 16 – Public health experts often focus immunization awareness efforts toward protecting children, and with good reason: Facing a potentially bewildering schedule of vaccinations for their young ones, parents usually need all the help they can get. But vaccinations aren't just kid stuff. Medical science is creating an increasing number of immunizations targeted at adults, to help them avoid life-threatening diseases in middle-age and opportunistic infections when they're older. "Immunization is a life-long issue that we need to pay a lot of attention to," said Dr. Georges C. Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. Some adult vaccinations are very well-known, like the annual shot that aims to prevent the spread of influenza. "You need an influenza shot every year," Benjamin said. "Part of that is because the virus changes every year, ... Read more

More U.S. 'Tweens' Getting Recommended Vaccines

Posted 5 Sep 2011 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, Sept. 5 – Growing numbers of 11- and 12-year-olds are receiving their recommended vaccines, which could indicate that resistance to children's inoculations is lessening in the United States. "We are getting better, but we still have a fair way to go," said Dr. Lance Rodewald, director of the immunization services division at the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, which is part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although vaccine rates among adolescents and teens have improved, they still fall short of goals set by the government's Healthy People 2020 campaign, he said. For the study, published in the September issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, researchers analyzed data from the 2009 National Immunization Survey--Teen telephone interview to see how many adolescents had their recommended shots. These shots ... Read more

Men, Women May Respond Differently to Vaccines

Posted 17 May 2010 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, May 17 – Gender can trigger different immune responses and different side effects to particular vaccines, a new analysis suggests. The finding, reported in the May issue of The Lancet Infectious Diseases, stems from a review of prior research concerning vaccines that target a range of diseases including yellow fever, influenza, measles, mumps and rubella, hepatitis and herpes simplex. Hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy were also tracked during the review for their possible effect on vaccines. "Sex can affect the frequency and severity of adverse effects of vaccination, including fever, pain and inflammation," lead author Sabra Klein, an assistant professor in the department of molecular microbiology and immunology at John Hopkins in Baltimore, said in a news release. "This is likely due to the fact that women typically mount stronger immune responses to vaccinations ... Read more

Parents Still Worried About Vaccine Safety

Posted 1 Mar 2010 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, March 1 – Although most American parents vaccinate their children, many are concerned about the safety of vaccines and some choose not to have their children protected from potentially deadly diseases, a new study found. Researchers at the University of Michigan found that while 90 percent of parents say vaccines are a good way to protect their kids, and 88 percent follow their doctor's vaccination recommendations, 54 percent are worried about serious side effects. "Parents' hesitation about vaccines has, in some cases, led them to postpone vaccinations for their children," said lead researcher Dr. Gary L. Freed, director of the Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit at the University of Michigan Health System. "The study found that 12 percent of parents have refused at least one vaccine that their children's doctor recommended." "When parents refuse vaccines, they place ... Read more

Too Few Adults Get Recommended Vaccinations

Posted 4 Feb 2010 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, Feb. 4 – Most parents make sure their children get all their vaccinations, but when it comes to adults these protective shots often fall by the wayside, a new report shows. In fact, 40,000 to 50,000 American adults die each year from diseases that vaccines could have prevented, according to the report, Adult Immunization: Shots to Save Lives. The report was released jointly Thursday by the Trust for America's Health, the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "This country does not have an effective strategy for immunizing adults against infectious diseases," Jeffrey Levi, executive director of Trust for America's Health, said during a morning teleconference. "Thousands of lives could be saved each year if we could increase the number of adults who receive routine and recommended vaccinations. We need a national strategy to make ... Read more

U.S. Childhood Vaccine Rates Good But Could Be Better: CDC

Posted 12 Jan 2010 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, Aug. 27 – More than three-quarters of United States children have received the recommended vaccinations, but greater efforts are needed to reach youngsters who are not fully immunized, a US government report finds. A 2008 survey of children from 19 months to 35 months of age, born between January 2005 and June 2007, found that 76.1 percent had received the recommended series of vaccines (called the 4:3:1:3:3:1 series), a rate statistically similar to the estimate of 77.4 percent in 2007. The national goal for coverage is 80 percent. "Vaccination is one of the most important things parents can do to protect their children's health," Dr. Melinda Wharton, deputy director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said in a CDC news release. "Thanks to the hard work of doctors and nurses and other immunization providers and the commitment of parents, rates ... Read more