The Pediatric infectious disease journal
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Pediatr. Infect. Dis. J. · Jul 1999
Increased protections during a measles outbreak of children previously vaccinated with a second dose of measles-mumps-rubella vaccine.
In 1989 a second dose of measles vaccine was recommended for US children to prevent school outbreaks of measles. Coverage of school age children with a second dose remains incomplete, and data on the effectiveness of this recommendation are limited. We investigated a measles outbreak in Mesa County, CO, in December, 1994, and evaluated the efficacy of preoutbreak immunizations at an elementary school (School A) where many students had received two doses. ⋯ The lower attack rate among two dose recipients provides evidence that a two dose strategy can help prevent measles in schools. Administering the second dose at elementary school entry can help prevent the persistence of susceptible cohorts of children and is likely to be important in sustaining elimination of indigenous transmission of measles in the United States.