RotaTeq May Join Infant Vaccination Schedule
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has added RotaTeq, the newly approved rotavirus vaccine, to the recommended childhood vaccination schedule.
Rotavirus infection causes 30-40% of infectious diarrhea cases in the US. It is highly contagious and can cause severe gastroenteritis in infants and young children, leading to dehydration and, in extreme cases, death.
The ACIP advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on optimal vaccine policies, and their recommendation was reported by MedPage Today on February 22, 2006.
RotaTeq is an oral liquid live vaccine manufactured by Merck. The ACIP panel recommended that the drug be given to children in three doses – at two, four, and six months of age. These guidelines follow the indications approved by the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) earlier in February.
The ACIP further noted that infants should receive the first dose of RotaTeq by age 12 weeks, and that dosing should be completed by age 32 weeks, according to MedPage Today.
This recommendation becomes official CDC policy if the director of the CDC and the secretary of Health and Human Services approve it. The CDC usually accepts the recommendations of its ACIP advisors. Acceptance of the recommendation would become official with publication in Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report.
Threat of Rotavirus
According to the CDC, rotavirus is responsible for over 400,000 doctor visits, over 200,000 emergency room visits, 55,000 to 70,000 hospitalizations and up to 60 deaths of children each year in the US, MedPage Today reports.
Four out of five children are affected by rotavirus by age five years, one in seven will require a clinic or emergency room visit, one in 78 will require hospitalization, and one in 200,000 will die from rotavirus diarrhea infection, according to the CDC.
The ACIP panel expects that the RotaTeq vaccine would prevent about 74% of all rotavirus cases and 98% of the most severe cases.
The ACIP's recommendation marks the second time that they have endorsed adding a rotavirus vaccine to the standard US immunization schedule. In 1999, they recommended implementing the RotaShield vaccine, but that vaccine was quickly withdrawn from the market when it became associated with increased risk of a rare bowel-obstruction (intussusception).
In the case of RotaTeq, the FDA is requiring close post-market monitoring of recipients, in order to detect any cases of intussusception, or other vaccine-associated adverse events, as quickly as possible. Clinical trials to date suggest that RotaTeq is not associated with intussusception.
For more facts on rotavirus, visit the CDC webpage Rotavirus Diarrhea.
Source:
ACIP Acts Quickly to Add Rotavirus Vaccine to Infant Schedule,
MedPage Today, February 22, 2006.
Posted: February 2006
