CDC panel recommends splitting measles, varicella shots
MMR + V instead of MMRV for children under 4
Panelists voted in favor of separating MMR and chickenpox shots to lessen seizure risk, despite concerns doing so might reduce how many children receive protection.
Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted Thursday to recommend against use of Merck & Co.’s combined measles, mumps, rubella and varicella vaccine in young children receiving their first dose, seeking to reduce the incidence of rare cases of seizures.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices instead recommended that the shot for varicella, the virus that causes chickenpox, be administered separately from the MMR inoculation in children age 4 and younger. Current policy recommends either approach for the youngest children: MMR and varicella together in Merck’s combined ProQuad vaccine, or in two separate shots.
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The committee also voted to retain the Vaccines For Children program’s coverage under the old CDC recommendations, which includes the combined MMRV shot.
https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/acip-change-mmrv-vaccine-recommendation-rfk/760563/
The MMRV vaccine was licensed in 2005 and is designed to streamline vaccine administration and boost overall vaccine uptake.
Currently, only 15% of parents opt for the combined vaccine instead of separate vaccines for children ages 12 to 15 months.
Although CDC scientists presented safety data on the hepatitis B vaccine and ACIP members deliberated over whether to change the current recommendation that newborns receive the vaccine at birth, a vote on the issue was moved to tomorrow, when the group will also discuss and vote on recommendations for COVID-19 vaccines.
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-vaccines/new-cdc-advisers-scale-back-recommendations-mmrv-vaccine-young-kids
h/t KeepIt