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Rotavirus Vaccine Not Linked to Risk of Intestinal Disorder
Large Study Shows No Link Between Vaccine and Intussusception
Reassuring Findings
The new findings are reassuring, says Tamara R. Kuittinen, MD. She is the director of medical education at the department of emergency medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
The vaccine has been helpful in reducing rates of hospitalization for children with rotavirus. Now we know that it does so without increasing the risk of intussusception.
“Intussusception doesn’t seem to be, from this study and others, the risk that we thought it was,” she says. Kuittinen hopes these findings encourage more people to, at least, consider vaccinating their children.
“Keep in mind, the problems with the original rotavirus vaccine primarily occurred when it was given off-schedule,” says Paula Hertel, MD. She is an assistant professor of pediatrics in the section of gastroenterology, hepatology, and nutrition at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. There are very explicit guidelines for how to administer this vaccine.
The main message is clear. “This vaccine has decreased the number of infections and hospitalization for rotavirus. I absolutely encourage people to give their children this vaccine,” she says.
Hertel practices what she preaches: “My own child received this vaccine, and my colleagues all feel very comfortable with it as well.”
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