Preferential Groups for the Types of Measles Vaccine - Essay Example

The MMR vaccine is recommended for individuals who are immunocompetent and can mount up an immune response, as it contains measles, mumps, and rubella. The advantage of this vaccine is that it gives immunity to all three viral diseases. This is suitable for international travelers who visit areas where the disease is still a risk factor. For students in university, it is also suitable because there is a large intermingling of students from far and wide, and thus risk of communicability. Furthermore, the MMR vaccine is also considered relatively cheap for a trio, ranging from 52-60USD per dose. It is thus affordable for the majority, leaving a small percentage that is normally catered for by the government or NGO healthcare facilities.

The risk factors involved in the vaccination are generally similar in all other vaccination scenarios. These include adverse anaphylactic reactions (although extremely rare)  (Carapetis & Curtis, 2001), neomycin reaction, egg protein sensitivity reaction (Aickin R., 1994), and a generalized reaction to the MMR antigen component.

It is recommended as well for healthy immunocompetent individuals. This is due to their ability to mount a proper and functional immune response. It is recommended for children above 12 months because their mothers’ antibodies may interfere with the immunological response of the infant. This is due to the fact they may end up binding the antigen and having no substrate for the infant antibodies to recognize and bind (Wilkins J., 1978).

It is recommended for immunocompromised individuals, patients who are on corticosteroid treatment, and those who are unable to mount a strong immunological response to a live vaccine. An example is patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, or in cases of cancer (Anon, 1993). The advantage of this type of vaccine is that it does not bear a risk of pathogenicity on immunosuppressed patients. Furthermore, it does not place undue pressure on the immune reconstitution mechanisms of the patient.

Some individuals may not be suitable candidates for immunization, and thus may have to forfeit or postpone the procedure. The factors that affect the grouping are mainly physiological. They include pregnant women, adults born before 1970, children below 12 months, individuals with a prior severe reaction to the vaccine. The individuals born before 1970 are generally considered immune due to the fact they may have been exposed to measles before the vaccine was first manufactured. Pregnant women are not vaccinated to avoid the infection of the fetus by the viral components of the vaccine. An example is placental crossing to form congenital Rubella (Barry R. Bloom, 2002).