Kids' Vaccinations : MMR, Chickenpox

by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

(Page 3 of 4)

A number of lawsuits have been filed against Lederle Laboratories, Inc., manufacturer of the oral vaccine. While the government was found negligent in its applications of some regulations on vaccine approval and vaccine lot release, the court has nevertheless affirmed the safety and importance of the vaccine.

The district court judge in Maryland wrote in April 1991, ". . . the scientists who established and implemented the OPV program were (and are) extraordinarily able professionals who consistently acted in the public interest as they reasonably perceived it to be. They made judgments on extremely difficult questions which, strictly from the standpoint of public health, appear to have been entirely proper."

MMR

The MMR vaccine protects against measles, mumps and rubella (German measles).

Measles is a highly contagious disease that causes high fever, cough, and a spotty rash. Possible complications include ear infections and pneumonia as well. More rarely, measles can infect the brain, causing convulsions, hearing loss, mental retardation, and even death. Babies under 2 and adults get much sicker with measles than do elementary school children.

The MMR vaccine is given in two doses, at 12 to 15 months and again between 4 and 6 years or before junior high or middle school. Most children have no side effects from the MMR vaccine, but about 5 to 15 percent develop a fever. A few develop a measles-like rash, swelling of the lymph glands, and mild pain in the joints.

Mumps is known for causing painful, swollen salivary glands under the jaw, as well as fever and headache. Mumps can be a very serious disease, causing meningitis or hearing loss. Teenage and adult males who get mumps may have painful swelling of the testicles for several days, although no infertility problems later. They get much sicker and suffer longer than children do with the disease.

Rubella is also called German measles. It's a mild disease in children, but rubella endangers the fetus when a pregnant woman catches it. As many as half of the women who contract rubella while pregnant, especially during the first three months, miscarry or deliver babies with heart disease, blindness, hearing loss, or learning problems. Before the rubella vaccine was approved in 1969, some 20,000 babies were born with severe birth defects because their mothers were exposed to the disease while pregnant.

Women with no proof of rubella immunity are routinely tested and should receive the vaccine before getting pregnant. Pregnant women should not receive the rubella vaccine, nor should a woman get pregnant within three months after getting the vaccine because of the potential for endangering the fetus.

Chickenpox

An estimated 3.7 million Americans get chickenpox each year, with more than 90 percent of cases in people younger than 15.

Although chickenpox is generally mild and not normally life-threatening, CDC estimates that there are 9,300 chickenpox-related hospitalizations and 50 to 100 deaths annually, half among young children.

On March 17, 1995, FDA licensed a new vaccine, Varivax (varicella virus vaccine live). Commonly known as the chickenpox vaccine, it will prevent the typical cases of itchy, uncomfortable, week-long rashes and mild fevers, and the rarer cases of serious illness caused by the virus.

Before receiving approval from FDA, researchers tested Varivax in about 11,000 children and adults. Scientists predict that it will be 70 to 90 percent effective in preventing the disease. Of those who did get chickenpox after vaccination, almost all had a mild form of the disease.

Adverse reactions to the vaccine were generally mild and included pain, rash, hardness, and swelling at the injection site, fever, and generalized rashes.

On April 10, 1995, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended the vaccine for all healthy children between 12 months and 13 years who have not had chickenpox. For children between 12 and 18 months, the academy recommends giving the vaccine at the same time as the first measles, mumps and rubella shot. Older children should be vaccinated at the earliest convenient time.

A single injection of the vaccine is recommended for children ages 12 months to 12 years, while two injections four to eight weeks apart are recommended for adolescents and adults who have never had chickenpox.

"We're not really sure why teens and adults don't get immunity with one shot," says Krause. "The immune response to a single shot if you're 13 or older is not nearly as good as it is if you're younger. But two shots provide immune responses comparable to what younger people get."

About the Author

www.fda.gov
FDA is A United States government body that oversees medical devices, including contact lenses, intraocular lenses, excimer lasers and eyedrops. In the US, these products must be approved by the FDA before they can be marketed.