Measles vaccines: WHO position paper, April 2017 - Recommendations

Vaccine. 2019 Jan 7;37(2):219-222. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.07.066. Epub 2017 Jul 29.

Abstract

This article presents the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommendations on the use of measles vaccines excerpted from the WHO position paper on Measles vaccines: WHO position paper - April 2017, published in the Weekly Epidemiological Record [1]. This position paper replaces the 2009 WHO position paper on measles vaccines [2]. The position paper summarizes the most recent developments in the field of measles and includes removal of introduction criteria for the routine second dose of measles-containing vaccine (MCV2), guidance on when to vaccinate infants from 6months of age, and guidance on re-vaccination of HIV-infected children receiving highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART). Footnotes to this paper provide a number of core references including references to grading tables that assess the quality of the scientific evidence, and to the evidence-to-recommendation table. In accordance with its mandate to provide guidance to Member States on health policy matters, WHO issues a series of regularly updated position papers on vaccines and combinations of vaccines against diseases that have an international public health impact. These papers are concerned primarily with the use of vaccines in large-scale immunization programmes; they summarize essential background information on diseases and vaccines, and conclude with WHO's current position on the use of vaccines in the global context. Recommendations on the use of measles vaccines were discussed by SAGE in November 2013, October 2015 and October 2016; evidence presented at these meetings can be accessed at: www.who.int/immunization/sage/meetings/2013/november/presentations_background_docs/en/, www.who.int/immunization/sage/meetings/2015/october/presentations_background_docs/en/ and www.who.int/immunization/sage/meetings/2016/october/presentations_background_docs/en/.

Keywords: Measles vaccines; Recommendations; SAGE; WHO position paper; World Health Organization (WHO).

MeSH terms

  • Child
  • Global Health*
  • HIV Infections / complications
  • Health Policy
  • Humans
  • Immunization Programs* / organization & administration
  • Immunization Schedule
  • Infant
  • Measles / prevention & control
  • Measles Vaccine / administration & dosage*
  • Measles Vaccine / therapeutic use
  • Practice Guidelines as Topic*
  • Public Health
  • Vaccination
  • World Health Organization*

Substances

  • Measles Vaccine