MMR Vaccine Safety: What Parents Need to Know About Measles Protection
Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen expressed her condolences to the families affected by the recent measles deaths and urged residents to get vaccinated. She also emphasized that the cases highlight the serious health risks associated with measles.
“Measles has been nearly eliminated in the Commonwealth for more than 30 years, so people are unfamiliar with the disease and don’t fully understand its potential severity,” Bogen said in a statement. “We want to make sure everyone in Pennsylvania has the information they need to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their communities. As physicians, we want people to understand that the MMR vaccine is safe and the best protection against measles.”
Although measles deaths are uncommon—occurring in approximately 1 to 3 out of every 1,000 cases—the risk is real. Measles can cause serious illness, hospitalization, and complications, including pneumonia, brain inflammation, hearing loss, and intellectual disability. The virus can also lead to a rare and fatal neurological disease called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), which may develop several years after an apparent recovery from measles.
The measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine provides highly effective protection against measles. Two doses, typically administered between 12 and 15 months of age and again between 4 and 6 years of age, are about 97 percent effective at preventing the disease. The MMR vaccine has undergone rigorous safety testing and has been used safely for decades by millions of children worldwide.
Despite the vaccine’s strong safety record, anti-vaccine rhetoric, misinformation, and disinformation continue to undermine public confidence and contribute to declining vaccination rates. Some of this messaging has come from officials in the Trump administration, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine critic who serves as U.S. secretary of health. President Trump has also made inaccurate claims about the MMR vaccine, including a statement that it could be “extremely lethal.” Health authorities have not found evidence that the MMR vaccine causes deaths in people with healthy immune systems. The vaccine is not recommended for individuals with certain forms of severe immune-system impairment.
Source: arstechnica.com