New
Vaccine Bundles Four Types into One Shot
Parents and children may breathe a sigh of relief
with the introduction of a new single shot vaccine that protects kids
against measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox.
This could mean one less shot and one less physician
visit, advocates say.
The US Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) recently approved the vaccine, called Proquad®,
manufactured by Merck.
The
vaccine - a combination of the company's measles, mumps, and rubella
(MMR
II®) vaccine and its chickenpox vaccine
- is designed for children from 12 months to 12 years of age.
Proquad is the first and only vaccine approved in
the US to help protect against these four diseases in a single shot,
according to Merck.
It is also approved for use in children 12 months
to 12 years of age if a second dose of measles, mumps, and rubella
vaccine is to be given.
The approval of this new vaccination combination
came after it was tested in over 5,000 children, the drug company said
in a statement.
"The advantage of putting two vaccines together
has been recognized by medical authorities," says Dr. Henry Shinefield,
a clinical professor of pediatrics and dermatology at the University
of California, San Francisco School of Medicine and a consultant to
Merck.
"There is an obvious advantage to the children," Dr.
Shinefield remarks. "They only get one shot."
In addition, there are advantages to physicians,
who can limit the number of different vaccines they have on hand, he
says.
Dr.
Shinefield also says there is an advantage to the community. Having
to get only
one shot instead of two may mean
that more children get vaccinated, he notes. "The community benefits
by having less disease," he explains.
"Based on the public health benefits realized following
the introduction of other combination vaccines, such as MMR II, we
expect Proquad to become a primary option for prevention of measles,
mumps, rubella, and chickenpox," says Dr. Mark Feinberg, vice president
of policy, public health, and medical affairs in Merck's Vaccine Division.
Proquad can help reduce the gap that exists in the
US between vaccination rates for chickenpox, which were an estimated
87.5 percent in 2004, and rates for measles, mumps and rubella, which
were an estimated 93 percent in 2004, Dr. Feinberg says.
"The main goal for any vaccine is to help eliminate
disease, and this is possible when very high vaccination rates are
achieved in the community," he notes.
In terms of potential side effects, Dr. Shinefield
does not see any more danger than there is with the current two vaccines.
The most common side effects noted were soreness
at the injection site, rash, and fever.
"It is important that children and parents be made
aware of every side effect," he says. "The side effects with this vaccine
are inline with what we see with other vaccines."
One critic of vaccines is cautious about the use
of this new vaccine.
"The FDA should have required far larger studies," says
Barbara Loe Fisher, the co-founder and president of the National
Vaccine Information Center. "You are combining five live viruses
into one vaccine, which has never been done before."
Fisher notes that there are still unanswered questions
about some of these vaccines and the likelihood of having long-term
adverse effects on children.
As
far as Proquad is concerned, Fisher says it has not been truly tested,
because it has only been tested against other
vaccines and not against a placebo [inactive substance]. "With a new
vaccine like this, you should be comparing it against placebo to find
out the true adverse reaction rate."
Always consult your child's physician for more information.
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American
Academy of Family Physicians
American
Academy of Pediatrics
American
Academy of Pediatrics on Vaccines
Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
National
Children's Study
National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development
National
Institutes of Health (NIH)
US
Health and Human Services (HHS)
US
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
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