The Center's for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted Thursday to stop recommending a combined shot for measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox for children under 4 years old. They are now advised to get two separate vaccines. The panel cited the reason for the change is a small risk of fever-induced seizures in toddlers who get the combination shot.
About eight in 10,000 children are at risk for seizures according to San Diego pediatrician Dr. Maya Kumar.
“This is still less than a tenth of a percent,” Kumar said. “I can't believe that they would take away a family's ability to conveniently give their kids one less shot because of this incredibly small risk.”
The risk measles poses is much greater, she said.
“If you compare the side effects of the vaccine to the side effects of the disease, it is immensely dwarfed by the side effects of the disease,” Kumar said.
Measles can lead to more than a rash. It can cause serious complications like pneumonia, brain swelling, long-term immune weakness, and in very rare cases, a fatal brain disease called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis.
In previous years, the CDC's vaccine schedule changes have been made very slowly, over time, and in response to new data, she said.
“This approach is completely different. It's simply reinterpreting old data in the way that fits your perspective, and I think that that's dangerous,” she said.
Kumar is worried the shift could confuse parents and make it harder for some children to complete their vaccines. She is also concerned that low-income families could face out-of-pocket costs, as the combined shot will no longer be covered by government insurance.
