Measles update: Which adults need a dose of MMR vaccine?

The Pediatric Insider

© 2019 Roy Benaroch, MD

While the vast majority of measles cases in the US and worldwide are occurring in unvaccinated children, a fair percentage is also occurring in adults.  With more-widespread transmission of measles, it’s becoming more important for all of us – yes, that includes parents – to make sure we’re well-protected.

Measles is probably the single most contagious infection that humans face. The key to preventing the return of widespread measles is in keeping vaccination rates high, so even if there is a case it cannot spread or cause an outbreak. Once there’s a neighborhood, school, or community with a concentration of unvaccinated individuals, it’s only a matter of time before measles returns and spreads widely.

Though we’re used to our children getting vaccinated on well-established schedules that ensure vaccines are safe and effective, many adults have fallen through the cracks.

People born before 1957 are presumed to be immune, because measles was so widespread in the past that almost all children contracted the infection.

Adults considered at “high risk” include healthcare workers, international travelers, those who are living in communities with outbreaks, and university students (I would also include all adults who teach and work in universities, though that’s not part of the official CDC high risk group). If you’re in these groups, you should have had TWO doses of MMR to ensure immunity. If you’ve only had one, get another; if you’re not sure if you’ve had any, get two doses. The second dose should be 4 weeks or more after the first.

Other adults (those born after 1957 and who do not live in a community with measles transmission) are considered immune and protected if they’ve had one dose of MMR.

For people born between 1957 and 1968, there’s a catch. Some of the measles vaccine used then was an inactivated vaccine that didn’t confer good immunity. If you have documentation that your vaccine was the “live” vaccine, that’s the good one. If you’re not sure which you received, get one dose of the current MMR to make sure you’re protected.

An alternative to receiving the vaccine, if you’re unsure of your vaccine status, is a blood test for measles titers (IgG antibodies.) If your titers are high, you’re protected; if they’re low, you need another dose of MMR.

The MMR vaccine shouldn’t be given to people with compromised immune systems or pregnant women, though it is fine for nursing moms.

Bottom line: if you’re an adult and you’re not sure if you’re adequately protected, you should receive at least one dose of MMR.

 

From the CDC:

Current outbreaks

More info about measles

 

What’s the best timing for my child’s measles vaccine doses? Should we give them early?

The Pediatric Insider

© 2019 Roy Benaroch, MD

As the US endures its largest measles outbreak in 25 years – one that’s almost certainly going to get worse before it gets better – we’re getting a lot of calls and questions at my office. What’s measles, what’s the best way to prevent it, when should the vaccine be given to adults and children? I’m going to do a series of mini-posts, just focusing on one question at a time. We’ll see how this format works out – let me know if you like it!

The measles vaccine is given as “MMR”, which teaches the immune system to fight off measles, mumps, and rubella. It’s a very effective vaccine that confers lifelong immunity. A single dose is about 93% effective, and two doses get that up to 97%. There aren’t many other preventive interventions in medicine that are even close to that good.

The first dose should be given between 12 and 15 months of age, though at this point I’d say 12 months is better. Why wait until 12 months? Earlier than that, babies may still have enough antibodies from their mother to partially block the effectiveness of the vaccine.

But in some circumstances, you should get that first dose early, as early as six months. If there’s a high risk of exposure, an early dose (though imperfect) will give at least some protection. That dose should then be repeated at 12 months. Who’s at high risk of exposure? Anyone who’s living in a community with cases of measles – that includes, as I’m writing this, areas of New York, Michigan, and California. Plus the Philippines, Israel, and Ukraine. And, really, most of Europe. If you’re traveling with your baby under 12 months out of the US (or even within the US), you should look at the news and talk with your child’s doctor about getting an early dose of MMR.

The second dose of MMR is traditionally given at age 4-6 years, prior to school entry. But that timing was chosen for purely administrative reasons –kids almost always come in for a preschool physical, and they also need doses of polio and DTaP vaccines, which must be given after the fourth birthday. But that second dose of MMR can be given much earlier. It will be just as safe and effective if given any time 4 weeks or more after the first dose. So if the first dose is given right at 12 months, the second dose could be given at 13 months (or, more likely, at 15 months, since that’s when the next check-up age falls.)

Again, if you’re living in or traveling to an area experiencing a measles outbreak, you should get that second dose early. There is no downside. Honestly, there’s no reason why any of our young babies should wait until age 4 to get it – it’s just a bit of history and convenience that placed the second dose at age 4. If your children do get the second dose early, keep in mind that they do not ALSO need a dose at age 4 (though a third dose will not be harmful, it’s just not necessary.)

 

More info:

The nitty gritty details about the history of the MMR vaccine and its timing

Measles from the CDC

Support for HPV vaccination continues to grow

The Pediatric Insider

© 2018 Roy Benaroch, MD

Two new studies have added to the enormous weight of evidence in support of HPV vaccination.

From Pediatrics, September 2018, “Primary Ovarian Insufficiency and Adolescent Vaccination”. This study looked at almost 200,000 young women enrolled in the Kaiser health system from 2006 to 2014, looking at rates of ovarian failure in women who had received vaccines versus women who didn’t. The study was triggered by concerns about ovarian failure related to HPV vaccination – concerns that continue to swirl on Facebook and other social media sites. The study showed that HPV vaccine didn’t trigger ovarian failure, even after an exhaustive search allowing for an association at any time period after vaccination. It just isn’t there. And ovarian failure wasn’t caused by other teen vaccines, either.

And, from Pediatrics August 2018, “Legislation to Increase Uptake of HPV Vaccination and Adolescent Sexual Behaviors”. Another concern that’s been raised is whether encouraging HPV vaccination interferes with “safe sex” or abstinence messaging. By encouraging a vaccine to prevent a sexually transmitted infection, are we giving permission to our children to have sex? This study looked at that question through the lens of how the individual States have approached HPV vaccine legislation. Some states have passed specific laws to encourage HPV vaccines; others have not. It turns out that adolescent sex behaviors, including having sexual relationships and using condoms, isn’t affected by how strongly their states encourage HPV vaccines.

 

Neither of these specific studies is a slam-dunk – and that’s the way science can be. We accumulate more and more evidence as time goes by. But they add up to what we can say with confidence: HPV vaccines are safe, and HPV vaccines can help protect your children from cancer. It’s a compelling story, and something parents ought to feel good about. There is no reason to hesitate – make sure your children are protected and up to date.

 

Key studies on HPV vaccination

A huge, comprehensive review of studies from May, 2018 showed that “There is high-certainty evidence that HPV vaccines protect against cervical precancer in adolescent girls and young women aged 15 to 26.” (Earlier review here) This study from August 2018 documented dropping cancer rates after the vaccine was introduced. The vaccine is working, and it’s saving lives.

A 2010 review of post-licensure studies showing good safety profile, and another large study of 600,000 doses in 2011 didn’t find any important safety concerns. Another 2012 study found no significant problems after almost 200,000 doses. These are big, reassuring studies that all say the same thing: HPV vaccination is safe.

Studies showing HPV vaccines do not cause chronic fatigue, autoimmune diseases, complex regional pain syndrome or postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. These and other studies looking for specific diseases or conditions caused or worsened by HPV vaccines have all been reassuring – these vaccines aren’t associated with these or any other worrisome health conditions.

When polio was wild

The Pediatric Insider

© 2018 Roy Benaroch, MD

“Polio. I’ve seen polio.”

Last night, I was speaking with one of the most experienced pediatricians I’ve ever met, Dr. Jack Burstiner. I’ve known him for 50 years. I would have known him even longer if I had been born earlier. He lived in my neighborhood, two doors down. He was my pediatrician.

Jack is almost 90 years old. But he still looks like a pediatrician. He’s got a smile a child could trust, now hidden under a white mustache. His green eyes twinkle when he talks about his patients, the kids he’s seen. There are some things about a pediatrician that never change.

Though he stopped practicing in the 1980’s, Dr. Burstiner worked for 30 years in pediatrics, at a time when pediatricians did everything. Hospitals, emergency departments, newborn deliveries, everything. And in 1955, just starting his training, Dr. Burstiner was a pediatric intern at Kings County Hospital, Brooklyn. It was a busy hospital, sure, but it was especially busy in the summer. Polio season.

“That’s where they’d all come, the kids with polio. They didn’t look right. They’d be dragging a leg, or not moving right. Sometimes an arm wouldn’t move, but usually a leg. And all night, every third night, I admitted all of them. It was just me. I’d do the spinal tap, and I’d look in the microscope, and I’d count the cells. If they had a lot of cells, that was polio. Of course we knew it anyway, but we had to tap all of them to be sure. All night long.”

Polio is caused by specific virus, an enterovirus that circulates especially in the summer and fall. It’s spread by contaminated water, sometimes in swimming pools or from unsafe taps, or from household contamination via stool. Most kids with polio develop a fever and then recover, but many develop paralysis of their skeletal muscles. It doesn’t affect their thinking, or their ability to feel sensations or pain. But it can make it impossible to walk or use other muscle groups, and can sometimes shut down the muscles that keep them breathing.

“It’s funny,” Dr. Burstiner said. “It was a big hospital, and upstairs – up above the emergency department, and the wards, the rooms the patients – upstairs were some of the smartest people in the world. They had dedicated their whole lives to fighting polio, and they knew all about it. But we still couldn’t really do anything to treat it. I was there, this intern, and I could tap them and I’d admit them, and then hopefully they’d keep breathing.”

In 1955 there were about 29,000 cases of polio in the United States. Dr. Burstiner estimates he admitted about 100 of those, ten a night, on the every third overnight he worked at the Brooklyn Hospital for one month during that hot summer.

“100 cases, I think I admitted, just in that one month. And all of those smart people upstairs, what could they do? But you know what happened next? The vaccine came out, and everyone wanted it. And in just a few years, it wasn’t 100 a month in one hospital. There wasn’t any, there was no polio anymore. I saw more polio in that one month than there was in the entire country, just a few years later.”

The first polio vaccine was introduced in 1955. By the mid-sixties, there were fewer than 100 cases of polio per year in the United States. We beat it. There have been zero cases of polio transmitted in the US since 1979; the last imported case to reach our shores from overseas was in 1993. There are still pockets of polio transmission, but it’s very possible the disease will be wiped off the earth entirely in the coming years.

Dr. Burstiner and I talked a while more, trading war stories, talking about cases. I’ve never seen polio, but I have seen children die of pneumococcal meningitis, and I’ve seen complications of chicken pox that put children in the ICU for weeks. Those are some of the diseases I may have the pleasure of never seeing anymore. Maybe someday I’ll tell the next generation of pediatricians about how we knocked out rotavirus diarrhea, and HIB septicemia, and HPV-related cancer. Measles, diphtheria, hepatitis A and B, we’ve got the tools to beat these and other diseases. We just need the will to see the fight to the end.

There’s a lot that hasn’t changed. Parents still worry about their kids, and kids still get sick. But there are many diseases that parents just don’t have to worry about anymore. That’s incredibly good news for you and your family. Protect your children, protect your communities, and help be a part of making the world healthier for the future. Vaccinate.

Vaxxed versus unvaxxed children: What a real study shows

The Pediatric Insider

© 2017 Roy Benaroch, MD

You may have seen it on Facebook: A published study claiming to be “The First Ever” comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated children supposedly showed that vaccinated children are more likely to have a number of health problems. Let me promise you: there’s nothing to worry about here. The study is one of those garbage-in-garbage-out whackjobs that’s almost indescribably bad and unreliable. And: a much better study of the same thing – children who are vaccinated, versus children who are not vaccinated – shows that there are not any worrisome risks. The long-term health of vaccinated children is just fine, and even better than unvaccinated kids (because they don’t have to suffer through vaccine-preventable diseases.)

Let’s cover the good study, first. It was published in 2011, and tracked over 13,000 randomly selected children in Germany, tracking their health status and correlating that with their documented vaccine histories. The authors could find no examples of any increased risks of infectious or allergic diseases in the vaccinated children.

And now, this more-recent, execrable study. They didn’t use randomly selected children. What it actually compared were the 666 children of homeschoolers who chose to complete the survey (which was promoted on antivaccine websites), using their self-reports of vaccine histories and health status. Of these, 40% hadn’t been vaccinated, at least according to the surveys. No attempt was made to track who received the survey, what percentage of respondents completed it, and what kind of respondents completed it. Do you think it’s possible that a high proportion of vaccine-distrusting parents would complete a survey like this? Hint: if you did a survey of musical tastes at a Justin Bieber concert, you’re not going to find many Cab Calloway fans.

The “study” was really just a survey, and a biased one at that – a survey among people who were guaranteed to say exactly what the study authors wanted them to say. It had already been retracted, once previously (and, laughably, by a bottom-feeding journal that looks like it requires authors to pay to publish their studies. This isn’t the way legit journals work.)

Vaccines are safe, and they save lives. Make sure your kids are fully vaccinated. Don’t believe the Facebook rumors, or idiocy dressed up like science – what the real science shows is what parents should feel confident about. There’s no need to worry about vaccines.

A more detailed evaluation of this fakakta survey is here, and here’s more information about reliable vaxxed versus unvaxxed studies. Yes, they’ve been done before. Yes, they consistently show that vaccines are safe and that vaccinated children are healthy.

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Vaccines: We’re all in this together

The Pediatric Insider

© 2017 Roy Benaroch, MD

When we work together, great things can happen.

Polio has been around since ancient times – there are depictions of it in art thousands of years old. Improved sanitation helped, but it was vaccines that have nearly eradicated polio from the world. This is a disease that paralyzed over 21,000 people in the US in 1952. There are still plenty of people around living with deformities and chronic pain from polio they suffered through years ago. Our children will never have to face this, because our parents and grandparents were sure to get us vaccinated.

Smallpox – gone.

Rinderpest – gone, too, though you may not have known what it was. It’s a neat story. Rinderpest was also known as cattle plague or steppe murrain, and may have been one of the biblical plagues. Our livestock no longer have to worry about it (I’m not sure they ever did, really. That’s livestock for you. But for farmers & pastoral nomads, rinderpest was a big deal.)

Measles – another ancient disease, and a serious one that continues to kill people – was almost eradicated from the western world. It’s no longer endemic (constantly circulating) in the USA, though pockets of certain populations can still support local outbreaks. And that exactly what happens, when vaccine rates fall. Measles cases rapidly return. It’s happening in Europe, and it’s happening in communities in Minnesota who’ve fallen for the lies of the antivaccine propagandists.

Have you or your kids had tetanus, lately? Diphtheria? No. And it’s not because you’re lucky. It’s, again, because our parents and grandparents got us vaccinated, and almost all of us continue to vaccinate our children.

Most parents get it, that vaccines protect not only our children, but everyone else’s children – especially babies too young to get their immunizations, or children who have cancer or other immune problems. Elderly people, adults on medicine for their psoriasis or rheumatoid arthritis, or in chemotherapy – all of us, in every community, benefit when parents vaccinate their children.

And when parents don’t vaccinate, bad things quickly happen. The diseases will wait, patiently, until we let our guard down and invite them back into our homes. They’re not busy. They’re waiting.

There’s a choice, here. Live in fear – fake fear, made-up fear, fear based on lies and propaganda and the same stuff that tries to fool you into e-mailing your bank routing number to a Nigerian prince. You’re not getting that $26 million (or $43 million), and your doctors and the CDC and governments all over the world are not trying to poison your children. Honestly. Let us protect your kids. Great things can happen when we all vaccinate. Protect your children, your community, and yourself.

Bonus! Another example – great things can happen when we all work together. Or, in this case, sing together. Listen, it’ll give you goosebumps.

Nursing and vaccines: Two good things, great together

The Pediatric Insider

© 2017 Roy Benaroch, MD

Stefanie wrote in:

My question is related to the MMR vaccine. Would it be better to stop breastfeeding at 11 months and then get the MMR 1st shot vaccine at 12 months? Or did I understand correctly that the maternal antibodies from breastmilk will not interfere with the MMR vaccine to work? If they do not have an effect on neutralizing the vaccine, I would prefer continuing to breastfeed.

Stefanie, you can continue to nurse if you’d like – there’s no recommendation for anyone to stop or delay nursing before any vaccine.

What Stefanie is talking about here are the immunoglobulins in breast milk, and whether they could somehow interfere with the effectiveness of vaccinations. There are no clinical studies that have shown this to be a problem for MMR or any other vaccine. Breast milk antibodies don’t make vaccines less effective or less safe.

One study of a different vaccine, one that protects against the diarrheal illness caused by rotavirus, confirmed that breast milk contains antibodies against the virus. The titers of these antibodies were especially high among women from the developing world, compared with women from the United States. The authors speculated that this might explain why the vaccine is more effective in more-developed countries, and proposed a study to see if delaying (not stopping) breast feeding could make the vaccine more effective. In the US, the rotavirus vaccine is highly effective at preventing severe disease and hospitalization, both in nursing and formula-fed babies. Moms can continue nursing right before or after the vaccine is given (it would be awkward to nursing during administration of this vaccine—it’s given orally. Not sure how that could be done.)

I’ve had a run of questions about nursing and vaccinations, some implying that breastfeeding is better than vaccinations, or that vaccinations and breastfeeding are somehow competing with each other, or that those that support vaccinations are somehow shortchanging or weak on breastfeeding. These kinds of stories seem to be a new “fad” among those who wish to sow an overlay of vague mistrust and doubt about vaccinations. Please, the science is overwhelmingly positive. Don’t rely on the Googlers and scaremongers. Immunizations are safe and effective. You do not need to worry. Protect your children. Vaccinate.

 

Vaccinations are the best immune booster

The Pediatric Insider

© 2017 Roy Benaroch, MD

The human immune system is an amazing thing. There are thousands of microorganisms – millions, maybe – that are lurking out there, eager to make you sick. You breathe them in. They’re in every bite of food, and all over your hands when you rub your nose. We live in constant bombardment.

And they’re sneaky, too – with changing DNA and proteins to fool us. We’ve got soap and water and some pretty good antibiotics to fight them off, but, really, the vast majority of the work to keep us healthy is done by our own immune systems.

Wouldn’t it be nice to give your immune system a boost, to help it fight off infections? We know moderate (but not heavy) exercise can help, as can a good night’s sleep. What about those “immune booster” vitamin packs they sell? Hint: there’s a reason they say right on the package that they don’t prevent or treat any disease. Save your money.

Another idea: you can just get sick, and at least the next time around your immune system can recognize the germ and fight it off more effectively. Of course, you have to get sick first to enjoy those benefits. And some of those sicknesses can be pretty serious. Or might kill you. Still, no pain no gain, right?

Wrong. There’s a great way to get a real immune boost – a way to help your own immune system, or that of your children, fight off diseases without having to get sick first. They’re vaccinations. They give your immune system a glimpse, a quick safe view, of an infection in a way that won’t make you sick, but will still teach your immune system to recognize the infection if you ever have to fight it off. It’s the best way to prepare your immune army for battle against the infectious enemy, in a way that’s almost risk-free.

Get your sleep and exercise, and eat tasty, home-made foods. Grow a vegetable garden. Hug your kids. Sing like no one is listening, and dance like no one is watching. And vaccinate, too.  These are all great ways to keep your children happy, healthy, and safe.

Breastfeeding and vaccinations protect your baby in different ways

The Pediatric Insider

© 2017 Roy Benaroch, MD

“Since I’m nursing my baby, she’s getting all of the antibodies in my breast milk. Doesn’t that protect her the same way vaccines do?”

There are antibodies in breast milk, and they can help protect your baby from some kinds of infections. But those kinds of antibodies are different from the ones your baby will make herself after vaccinations. Breastfeeding contributes to one kind of protection, but the protection from vaccines is more powerful and longer-lasting.

Antibodies (also called “immunoglobulins”) are proteins that are part of your immune system. They work by attaching to invading microorganisms and viruses, which helps signal your immune system to attack. Antibodies have to be specific to each kind of infection—one antibody doesn’t fight multiple germs—and your immune system learns how to make different antibodies based on your body’s exposures to infections.

There are two ways for your baby to get antibodies. She can get them passively, from mom, either across the placenta or via breastmilk. Both are important. Placental antibodies are IgGs, which circulate in the blood. These kinds of antibodies help fight off invasive diseases. After a baby is born, placental IgG antibodies fade away over several months. Moms can boost their own ability to give these IgGs by being vaccinated, themselves, during pregnancy (that’s why moms should get influenza and pertussis vaccines while they’re still pregnant.) Breast milk contains a different kind of antibody, IgAs, which aren’t found in the blood. They are a part of intestinal and respiratory mucus, protecting people from infections before they get to the blood. The effect of these IgA antibodies in breastmilk is especially important in the developing world, where safe water and food is harder to find, and where moms have especially high titers of their own antibodies from ongoing infectious exposures.

The other way for babies to get antibodies is to make them on their own. To learn to do this, they must either be exposed to the infection, or get an immune-boosting “glimpse” of the infection by receiving a vaccine. That’s the point of vaccines: to allow someone to make their own strong, protective antibodies without the risk of having to suffer through the disease. These antibodies, made after “active immunization”, are of very high titers and are long-lasting – in some cases, for a lifetime. They’re much more protective than the passive antibodies gained across the placenta or through breast milk.

Bottom line: families can help protect their babies from infection in many ways. Sick people should be kept away from newborns. Moms should get their own recommended vaccines. Nursing can help (though in the developed world, the impact of nursing on infections is modest.) And babies should get their own vaccines, as recommended, on schedule, to get the best possible protection.

Great news about pertussis protection for newborns: Vaccinate mom!

The Pediatric Insider

© 2017 Roy Benaroch, MD

Pertussis (AKA “whooping cough”) is a nasty bear of an illness in older children and adults. People with pertussis cough for about 100 days – and it’s a horrible cough that sometimes makes people puke, pass out, or wet their pants. Seriously. Three months of that.

But it’s even worse for little babies, especially newborns, who just don’t have the lung power to expel the mucus. They cough, sure, but a lot of them get encephalitis and seizures, and some of them just stop breathing. So it’s especially important to protect the youngest babies.

Rates of pertussis have been climbing, in part because the newer vaccine that we started using in the 1990s doesn’t seem to give as lasting immunity as the old-school, whole-cell vaccine of earlier days. And as more pertussis circulates in communities, it’s the little babies who suffer the most. Pertussis vaccines are given to babies at 2, 4, and 6 months – and that means they build own protection slowly over the first year. Fortunately, a study published today shows that we can prevent most cases of newborn pertussis – even in babies too young to have gotten the full benefit of their own vaccines.

Researchers from the Kaiser Group of Northern California looked at records of all of the babies born at their facilities from 2000-2015 (those years spanned two big California pertussis outbreaks, in 2010 and 2014.) They hypothesized that a strategy of vaccinating pregnant women against pertussis, recommended since 2011, would help prevent pertussis in their newborns. Since people enrolled in Kaiser get all of their care at Kaiser locations, they could track which babies caught pertussis and they could tell which moms got a dose of pertussis vaccine during pregnancy.

They had a lot of babies to track – about 150,000. 17 of those babies caught pertussis in the first 2 months of their lives, and 110 caught it within the first year. The authors compared the rates of pertussis among babies whose mom got the Tdap (tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis) vaccine during pregnancy versus those who did not.

Of the 17 newborns less than 2 months with pertussis, only 1 had a mom who was vaccinated during pregnancy – working out to a vaccine effectiveness of about 90%. Looking down the road as the babies got older and received their own doses of pertussis vaccine, the effectiveness of maternal Tdap remained strong throughout the first year. There were no signs that maternal vaccination interfered with the effectiveness of the babies’ vaccines.

This is great news – an easy and effective easy way to prevent a potentially devastating disease of young babies. Previous studies have shown that this vaccine is also very safe for both pregnant women and their babies. Keep your babies safe – make sure, moms, you get a dose of Tdap during every pregnancy.