Early doses of the MMR vaccine may mean less protection later, the state’s health department said. In one county with a high infection rate, it’s worth the risk, officials said.
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) An example of a measles virus.
Utah health officials, seeing high infection rates for measles in Washington County, are recommending an early, extra vaccine dose for infants — even though it could leave children less protected from the virus later in life.
Infants between 6 months and a year old who live in or are traveling to Washington County should get a dose of the measles-mumps-rubella, or MMR, vaccine, according to the Utah Department of Health and Human Services. The county in Southern Utah has seen 43 confirmed measles cases this year.
There is a reason, though, why the early dose is not suggested for every infant regardless of location, Utah health officials said.
The department said more research is needed for conclusive results, but some studies show the early dose can lessen the effect of the vaccine on the infant later in life.
Charla Haley, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, said the chance of less protection years down the road is worth it for babies in communities seeing high measles transmission rates now, given the substantial risks they face if they are infected.
“Most medical interventions come with some degree of risk-benefit assessment,” she said. “In this scenario, the benefits of early protection against a measles infection outweighs the potential risk of suboptimal immune response to the MMR vaccine later on.”
NBC News reported that Hildale, in Washington County, and neighboring Colorado City, Arizona, are linked to the second-largest measles outbreak this year, and infections are spreading to nearby communities, like St. George and Hurricane.
In areas of the state with less transmission, Haley added, the protection from an early dose does not outweigh the potential for decreased protection later on.
The department also recommends the early dose for infants who will travel by plane, and the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention suggest an extra dose be administered to babies between 6 and 11 months old before international travel.
Under state health department guidelines, a recommendation for the early MMR dose will generally only be made if a county has three measles infections in children under 4 years old, or — as happened in Washington County — 10 infections countywide where at least one child is under 4. To trigger the recommendation, those infections must happen within 42 days, and be independent of each other without any known exposures.
In normal circumstances, the health department suggests children receive their first dose of the MMR vaccine at 12-15 months, and their second dose when they are 4-6 years old, before they begin school. If children receive an extra, early dose when they are younger than 1 year, the department still recommends they receive the two later doses.
As of Monday, Utah health officials reported Utah has seen 58 confirmed measles cases this year. Nationwide, the CDC reports, there were 1,618 confirmed cases as of Oct. 21.
First Appeared on
Source link
