MMR Vaccination Study: Investigation of the Immunity of Individuals Fully Vaccinated Against Measles, Mumps, and Rubella and Monitoring of Immunity After a Booster.

Zusammenfassung der Studie

Determining whether people respond to vaccination is an important public health question with significant implications for public health. In recent years, there has been an increase in cases of measles and mumps; vaccine-preventable diseases that had been well controlled since the introduction of regular vaccinations. About 30% of measles cases and up to half of mumps cases occur in individuals who have already received at least two doses of measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, suggesting waning immunity. The duration of protective immunity against rubella is also unclear. While two doses of MMR vaccine are recommended for all adults born after 1963 in Switzerland, an MMR booster as a third dose is currently not planned. Furthermore, blood is usually used to assess immunity, generally measuring the circulating immunity, typically the antibody response. While antibody responses may indicate a reaction to vaccination, they may not represent the immune group actually responsible for protection. There is a need to better understand both, first, the duration of vaccine-induced immune responses to measles, mumps, and rubella and, second, the underlying protective immune mechanisms triggered by vaccination and their localization. In this study, the immunogenicity, the ability of an antigen to elicit an immune response, of a third dose (booster) of the MMR vaccine (M-M-RVaxPro) in healthy adults (18-49 years) who have previously received two doses of MMR vaccine will be investigated. Additionally, immune responses in blood will be compared to those in mucosal sites (saliva and nasal rinses).

(BASEC)

Untersuchte Intervention

In our study, participants will be randomly assigned to groups. This is important to obtain reliable results from the study. This is called randomization. Each group receives a different treatment. In our study, there are 2 groups:

• Group 1 (experimental group) receives the booster. 50 participants will receive the booster of the MMR vaccine (M-M-RVaxPro) and will be invited for five study visits over one year. During these visits, blood and saliva samples and a nasal rinse will be collected for immunity studies.

• Group 2 represents the participants not receiving the booster. We study the immunity of previously vaccinated individuals. The approximately 150 participants in this group will be invited for two study visits over one year. Directly at study enrollment and one year later, blood and saliva samples will be collected.

This division helps to understand how MMR-specific immune responses decline over time and whether the booster is effective. Such information may provide evidence of effectiveness for the booster in at-risk populations if needed.

(BASEC)

Untersuchte Krankheit(en)

Measles, mumps, and rubella are highly contagious viral diseases for which there is no specific treatment and which are often mistakenly considered harmless. Without vaccination, these diseases regularly cause outbreaks due to their high contagiousness. They are transmitted from person to person through droplets produced when coughing or sneezing. Although many people recover after a few days, these diseases can lead to severe and debilitating symptoms. Additionally, severe complications can occur, potentially causing permanent physical or mental damage and, in rare cases, death. Vaccination is the only effective means of protecting against these diseases. Therefore, it is recommended in Switzerland and worldwide to vaccinate all children with two doses of the MMR vaccine to eliminate these diseases.

(BASEC)

Sponsor

Prof. Dr. Jan Fehr (Sponsor Investigator)

(BASEC)

Name der bewilligenden Ethikkommission (bei multizentrischen Studien nur die Leitkommission)

Ethikkommission Zürich

(BASEC)

Datum der Bewilligung durch die Ethikkommission

07.07.2023

(BASEC)

Ergebnisse der Studie