PRIORIX, M-M-R II vaccines interchangeable for MMR

The measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccines PRIORIX and M-M-R II are interchangeable, according to research published in the Nov. 18 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Elisabeth Krow-Lucal, Ph.D., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues provide recommendations specific to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved MMR vaccine, PRIORIX, which was approved in persons aged 12 months and older on June 6, 2022. Outcomes for PRIORIX were compared to those for the M-M-R II, which has been the only vaccine for MMR since 1978.

Safety profiles were compared for 1,960 individuals receiving one or two doses of PRIORIX and 933 individuals receiving one or two doses of M-M-R II in four randomized controlled clinical trials. The researchers found that the frequency of vaccine-related serious adverse events was similar across the groups and was 0.0 to 0.2 percent for those receiving PRIORIX and 0.0 to 0.3 percent for those receiving M-M-R II.

Based on two studies conducted in the United Kingdom, differences in the rate of febrile seizures between the two vaccines were found to be nonsignificant. Using data from 13 randomized controlled trials assessing short-term humoral immunity, serologic response thresholds were achieved for all three antigens in all studies.

Given the similarities in vaccine potency and similar safety and immunogenicity, PRIORIX and M-M-R II are considered fully interchangeable. Either the PRIORIX or M-M-R II vaccine may be administered in any situation in which an MMR-containing vaccine is indicated.

"Two interchangeable vaccines from different manufacturers will help safeguard vaccine supply in the United States to maintain measles and rubella elimination and mitigate mumps cases and outbreaks," the authors write.

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