Measles jab could be given as early as four months

The measles jab could soon be given to babies as young as four months—five months earlier than the current recommendations.

Medical researchers are asking health agencies to review the current vaccine schedule, which includes giving babies their first measles jab at nine months and a booster between 15 and 18 months.

The vaccine can be given at six months if there is a major measles outbreak.

Researchers from the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Australia say that only 30 percent of children are protected by their mother’s antibodies by the time they are four months old, and this is especially the case in developing countries.

They scanned 34 journal articles with data from 8,000 babies under nine months of age from low- and middle-income countries and found maternal measles antibody rates were highest at birth, before decreasing rapidly to 30 per cent by four months and 18 per cent at seven months.

They are asking the World Health Organization, which recommends vaccine schedules, to review its current advice on measles jabs, and so babies as young as four months could soon be getting their first shot—even if they’re in richer and developed countries.

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