Meruvax II

Generic name: Rubella Virus Vaccine, Live
Drug class: Viral vaccines

Usage of Meruvax II

Rubella virus vaccine live is an active immunizing agent used to prevent infection by the rubella virus. It works by causing your body to produce its own protection (antibodies) against the virus infection.

Rubella (also known as German measles) is a serious infection that causes miscarriages, stillbirths, or birth defects in unborn babies when pregnant women get the disease. While immunization against rubella is recommended for everyone, it is especially important for women of child-bearing age.

Immunization against rubella is also important for employees in medical facilities, adolescents and adult men, persons traveling outside the U.S., and all children 12 months of age and older, including school-aged children.

Immunization against rubella is not recommended for infants less than 12 months of age, because antibodies they received from their mothers before birth may interfere with the effectiveness of the vaccine. Children who were immunized against rubella before 12 months of age should be immunized again.

You can be considered immune to rubella only if you received rubella vaccine on or after your first birthday and have the medical record to prove it, or if you have had a blood test showing immunity to rubella. A past history of having a rubella infection does not prove immunity, because the signs of rubella infection are not reliable enough to be certain that you have had the disease.

Since vaccination with rubella vaccine may not provide protection for everyone, you may want to ask your doctor to check your immunity to the rubella virus 6 to 8 weeks following your vaccination. This may be especially important if you are a woman of child-bearing age who is likely to become pregnant in the future.

This vaccine is to be administered only by or under the supervision of your doctor or other health care professional.

Meruvax II side effects

Along with its needed effects, a medicine may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention.

Check with your doctor immediately if any of the following side effects occur:

Symptoms of allergic reaction

Difficulty in breathing or swallowing

hives

itching, especially of feet or hands

reddening of skin, especially around ears

swelling of eyes, face, or inside of nose

unusual tiredness or weakness (sudden and severe)

Check with your doctor as soon as possible if any of the following side effects occur:

Less common

Pain or tenderness of eyes

Rare

Bruising or purple spots on skin

confusion

convulsions (seizures)

headache (severe or continuing)

pain, numbness, or tingling of hands, arms, legs, or feet

stiff neck

unusual irritability

vomiting

Some side effects may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. Also, your health care professional may be able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side effects. Check with your health care professional if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions about them:

More common

Burning or stinging at place of injection

skin rash

swelling of glands in neck

Less common

Aches or pain in joints

headache (mild), sore throat, runny nose, or fever

itching, swelling, redness, tenderness, or hard lump at place of injection

nausea

vague feeling of bodily discomfort

The above side effects (especially aches or pain in joints) are more likely to occur in adults, particularly women.

Some of the above side effects may not occur until 1 to 4 weeks after immunization and usually last less than 1 week. Aches or pain in joints may not occur until 1 to 10 weeks after immunization, and usually lasts less than 1 week. Check with your doctor if this side effect continues or is bothersome.

Other side effects not listed may also occur in some patients. If you notice any other effects, check with your healthcare professional.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

Before taking Meruvax II

In deciding to use a vaccine, the risks of taking the vaccine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For this vaccine, the following should be considered:

Allergies

Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to this medicine or any other medicines. Also tell your health care professional if you have any other types of allergies, such as to foods, dyes, preservatives, or animals. For non-prescription products, read the label or package ingredients carefully.

Pediatric

Use is not recommended for infants less than 12 months of age. This medicine has been tested in older infants and children and, in effective doses, has not been shown to cause different side effects or problems than it does in adults.

Breast Feeding

Studies in women suggest that this medication poses minimal risk to the infant when used during breastfeeding.

Interactions with Medicines

Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are receiving this vaccine, it is especially important that your healthcare professional know if you are taking any of the medicines listed below. The following interactions have been selected on the basis of their potential significance and are not necessarily all-inclusive.

Receiving this vaccine with any of the following medicines is not recommended. Your doctor may decide not to use this vaccine or change some of the other medicines you take.

Alemtuzumab

Cisplatin

Cladribine

Clofarabine

Cyclophosphamide

Cytarabine

Cytarabine Liposome

Dacarbazine

Dasatinib

Daunorubicin

Daunorubicin Citrate Liposome

Daunorubicin Liposome

Deflazacort

Docetaxel

Doxorubicin

Epirubicin

Etoposide

Fludarabine

Fluorouracil

Gemcitabine

Gemtuzumab Ozogamicin

Hydroxyurea

Idarubicin

Ifosfamide

Imatinib

Interferon Alfa

Irinotecan

Irinotecan Liposome

Lomustine

Mechlorethamine

Melphalan

Mercaptopurine

Methotrexate

Mitomycin

Mitoxantrone

Nelarabine

Nilotinib

Ofatumumab

Oxaliplatin

Paclitaxel

Paclitaxel Protein-Bound

Pemetrexed

Pentostatin

Ponatinib

Procarbazine

Rituximab

Temozolomide

Teniposide

Thiotepa

Topotecan

Tositumomab

Vinblastine

Vinorelbine

Receiving this vaccine with any of the following medicines is usually not recommended, but may be required in some cases. If both medicines are prescribed together, your doctor may change the dose or how often you use one or both of the medicines.

Adalimumab

Anifrolumab-fnia

Ansuvimab-zykl

Antithymocyte Globulin Rabbit

Atoltivimab

Axicabtagene Ciloleucel

Azathioprine

Baricitinib

Belatacept

Betibeglogene autotemcel

Bimekizumab-bkzx

Brexucabtagene autoleucel

Brodalumab

Canakinumab

Certolizumab Pegol

Deucravacitinib

Dupilumab

Efgartigimod Alfa-fcab

Elivaldogene Autotemcel

Emapalumab-lzsg

Etanercept

Etrasimod

Everolimus

Fingolimod

Golimumab

Guselkumab

Hyaluronidase

Immune Globulin

Inebilizumab-cdon

Infliximab

Ixekizumab

Leflunomide

Leniolisib

Mirikizumab-mrkz

Mycophenolic Acid

Ocrelizumab

Ozanimod

Ponesimod

Rilonacept

Risankizumab-rzaa

Ritlecitinib

Rozanolixizumab-noli

Sarilumab

Satralizumab-mwge

Secukinumab

Siponimod

Sirolimus

Spesolimab-sbzo

Tacrolimus

Teplizumab-mzwv

Teriflunomide

Tildrakizumab-asmn

Tocilizumab

Tofacitinib

Trabectedin

Tralokinumab-ldrm

Ublituximab-xiiy

Upadacitinib

Ustekinumab

Valoctocogene Roxaparvovec-rvox

Vamorolone

Voclosporin

Receiving this vaccine with any of the following medicines may cause an increased risk of certain side effects, but using both drugs may be the best treatment for you. If both medicines are prescribed together, your doctor may change the dose or how often you use one or both of the medicines.

Abatacept

Cytomegalovirus Immune Globulin, Human

Hepatitis B Immune Globulin

Rabies Immune Globulin

Respiratory Syncytial Virus Immune Globulin, Human

Tetanus Immune Globulin

Vaccinia Immune Globulin, Human

Varicella-Zoster Immune Globulin

Interactions with Food/Tobacco/Alcohol

Certain medicines should not be used at or around the time of eating food or eating certain types of food since interactions may occur. Using alcohol or tobacco with certain medicines may also cause interactions to occur. Discuss with your healthcare professional the use of your medicine with food, alcohol, or tobacco.

Relate drugs

How to use Meruvax II

Dosing

The dose of this medicine will be different for different patients. Follow your doctor's orders or the directions on the label. The following information includes only the average doses of this medicine. If your dose is different, do not change it unless your doctor tells you to do so.

The amount of medicine that you take depends on the strength of the medicine. Also, the number of doses you take each day, the time allowed between doses, and the length of time you take the medicine depend on the medical problem for which you are using the medicine.

For injection dosage form:

For prevention of rubella:

Adults and children 12 months of age and older—One dose injected under the skin.

Children up to 12 months of age—Use is not recommended.

Warnings

Do not become pregnant for 3 months after receiving rubella vaccine without first checking with your doctor. There is a chance that this vaccine may cause birth defects.

Tell your doctor that you have received this vaccine:

if you are to receive a tuberculin skin test within 4 to 6 weeks after receiving this vaccine. The results of the test may be affected by this vaccine.

if you are to receive blood transfusions or other blood products within 2 weeks after receiving this vaccine.

if you are to receive gamma globulin or other immune globulins within 2 weeks after receiving this vaccine.

Disclaimer

Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Drugslib.com is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Drugslib.com information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Drugslib.com does not warrant that uses outside of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Drugslib.com's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Drugslib.com's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners.

The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Drugslib.com does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information Drugslib.com provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.