New Recommendations for Measles Immunizations

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Concerned about the growing number of measles cases in the United States, the Public Health Service recently recommended that two doses of measles vaccine be given to all children, preferably as combined MMR (measles, mumps, rubella vaccine). Previously, only one dose was recommended routinely. (See "Mumps Makes a Comeback ... And Measles, Too" in the July-August 1989 FDA Consumer.)

While the tally is not yet complete for 1989, about 14,000 measles cases were reported to the federal Centers for Disease Control in the first 48 weeks of the year, compared with the previous post-vaccine era high of 6,282 cases for all of 1986.

The new PHS recommendations specify that in …