BRIEF—Merck boosting US supply of MMR vaccine

US pharma giant Merck & Co, which is the USA’s sole supplier of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, has "taken steps to increase US supply" of the vaccine due to the current measles outbreak, according to a report from Seeking Alpha.

Adults who were vaccinated against the virus decades ago may need a new dose depending on when they received the shot and their exposure risk, according to public health experts.

Anyone vaccinated between 1963 and 1989 would likely have received only one dose, with many people immunized in the earlier years receiving an inactivated version of the virus.