Updates to Public Health England’s Green Book chapter on live attenuated vaccines
Further to our previous advice in 2016, Public Health England have updated their guidance about live vaccination of infants born to a mother who received immunosuppressive biological therapy during pregnancy.
In an April 2016 Drug Safety Update we gave advice to avoid live attenuated vaccines in infants exposed to immunosuppressive treatment from the mother either in utero or via breastfeeding.
Public Health England has now updated chapter 6 of the Green Book to specify that children born of mothers who were on immunosuppressive biological therapy during pregnancy will not be eligible to receive rotavirus vaccine (and will need to defer BCG, if indicated, for 6 months). If there is any doubt as to whether an infant due to receive a live-attenuated vaccine may be immunosuppressed due to the mother’s therapy, including exposure through breastfeeding, specialist advice should be sought
Article citation: Drug Safety Update volume 11 issue 4; November 2017: 6.