ROTAVIRUS
VACCINE - SCI & TECH
News: Rotavirus
vaccine: tortured data analyses raise false safety alarm
What's
in the news?
●
This
is taken from an article published in The Hindu about Rotavirus vaccine.
Rotavirus:
●
Rotaviruses
are the most common cause of diarrhoeal
disease among infants and young children.
Concern:
●
Nearly
every child in the world is infected
with a rotavirus at least once by the age of five.
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Immunity
develops with each infection, so subsequent infections are less severe.
●
Adults
are rarely affected.
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Rotavirus
infections are not treated with antibiotics, rather they are managed with
supportive care such as rehydration.
Rotavirus
Vaccine:
●
The
rotavirus vaccine is a vaccine used to protect against rotavirus infections,
which are the leading cause of severe diarrhea among young children.
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The
vaccines prevent 15–34% of severe
diarrhea in the developing world and 37–96% of the risk of death among
young children due to severe diarrhea.
●
Rotavirus
vaccine is administered by putting drops in the child’s mouth.
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Babies should get 2 or 3 doses of rotavirus vaccine, depending on the brand of vaccine used.
○
The
first dose must be administered before 15 weeks of age.
○
The
last dose must be administered by 8 months of age.
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It
was introduced across India in 2019.