Contraindications
Hypersensitivity
A demonstrated history of hypersensitivity to any component of the vaccine.
Infants who develop symptoms suggestive of hypersensitivity after receiving a dose of ROTARIX should not receive further doses of ROTARIX.
Gastrointestinal Tract Congenital Malformation
Infants with a history of uncorrected congenital malformation of the gastrointestinal tract (such as Meckel’s diverticulum) that would predispose the infant for intussusception should not receive ROTARIX.
History of Intussusception
Infants with a history of intussusception should not receive ROTARIX [see Warnings and Precautions (5.5)]. In postmarketing experience, intussusception resulting in death following a second dose has been reported following a history of intussusception after the first dose [see Adverse Reactions (6.2)].
Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disease
Infants with Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disease (SCID) should not receive ROTARIX. Postmarketing reports of gastroenteritis, including severe diarrhea and prolonged shedding of vaccine virus, have been reported in infants who were administered live, oral rotavirus vaccines and later identified as having SCID [see Adverse Reactions (6.2)].
WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS
ROTARIX is available with a vial of lyophilized vaccine and 2 types of prefilled oral applicators of liquid diluent. One type of applicator has a tip cap which may contain natural rubber latex. The other type has both a tip cap and a rubber plunger which contains dry natural latex rubber. Use of either of these oral applicators may cause allergic reactions in latex-sensitive individuals. The vial stopper does not contain latex.
Gastrointestinal Disorders
Administration of ROTARIX should be delayed in infants suffering from acute diarrhea or vomiting.
Safety and effectiveness of ROTARIX in infants with chronic gastrointestinal disorders have not been evaluated.
Altered Immunocompetence
Safety and effectiveness of ROTARIX in infants with known primary or secondary immunodeficiencies, including infants with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), infants on immunosuppressive therapy, or infants with malignant neoplasms affecting the bone marrow or lymphatic system have not been established.
Shedding and Transmission
Rotavirus shedding in stool occurs after vaccination with peak excretion occurring around day 7 after dose 1.
One clinical trial demonstrated that vaccinees transmit vaccine virus to healthy seronegative contacts [see Clinical Pharmacology (12.2)].
The potential for transmission of vaccine virus following vaccination should be weighed against the possibility of acquiring and transmitting natural rotavirus. Caution is advised when considering whether to administer ROTARIX to individuals with immunodeficient close contacts, such as individuals with malignancies, primary immunodeficiency or receiving immunosuppressive therapy.
Intussusception
Following administration of a previously licensed oral live rhesus rotavirus-based vaccine, an increased risk of intussusception was observed.1 The risk of intussusception with ROTARIX was evaluated in a pre-licensure randomized, placebo-controlled safety study (including 63,225 infants) conducted in Latin America and Finland. No increased risk of intussusception was observed in this clinical trial following administration of ROTARIX when compared with placebo. [See Adverse Reactions (6.1).]
In a postmarketing, observational study conducted in Mexico, cases of intussusception were observed in temporal association within 31 days following the first dose of ROTARIX, with a clustering of cases in the first 7 days. [See Adverse Reactions (6.2).]
In worldwide passive postmarketing surveillance, cases of intussusception have been reported in temporal association with ROTARIX [see Adverse Reactions (6.2)].
Post-Exposure Prophylaxis
Safety and effectiveness of ROTARIX when administered after exposure to rotavirus have not been evaluated.
(VAN’s Note: How would they know since stools are rarely evaluated when an infant has gastroenteritis?).
ADVERSE REACTIONS
Clinical Trials Experience
Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a vaccine cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical trials of another vaccine, and may not reflect the rates observed in practice. As with any vaccine, there is the possibility that broad use of ROTARIX could reveal adverse reactions not observed in clinical trials.
Solicited and unsolicited adverse events, serious adverse events and cases of intussusception were collected in 7 clinical studies. Cases of intussusception and serious adverse events were collected in an additional large safety study. These 8 clinical studies evaluated a total of 71,209 infants who received ROTARIX (N = 36,755) or placebo (N = 34,454). The racial distribution for these studies was as follows: Hispanic 73.4%, white 16.2%, black 1.0%, and other 9.4%; 51% were male. Solicited Adverse Events: In 7 clinical studies, detailed safety information was collected by parents/guardians for 8 consecutive days following vaccination with ROTARIX (i.e., day of vaccination and the next 7 days). A d.iary card was completed to record fussiness/irritability, cough/runny nose, the infant’s temperature, loss of appetite, vomiting, or diarrhea on a daily basis during the first week following each dose of ROTARIX or placebo.
Adverse events among recipients of ROTARIX and placebo occurred at similar rates.
Fussiness and Irritability occured in 52% of infants vaccinated and in 52% of the placebo (VAN’s Note: The FDA don’t say what the placebo was).
Cough and Runny Nose occured in 28% of infants vaccinated and 30% of the placebo.
Fever occured in 25% of infants vaccinated and 33% of the placebo.
Loss of appetite occured in 25% of infants vaccinated and 25% of the placebo.
Vomiting occured in 13% of infants vaccinated and 11% of the placebo.
Diarrhoea occured in 4% of infants vaccinated and 3% of the placebo.
Unsolicited Adverse Events:
Infants were monitored for unsolicited serious and non-serious adverse events that occurred in the 31-day period following vaccination in 7 clinical studies. The following adverse events occurred at a statistically higher incidence (95% Confidence Interval [CI] of Relative Risk excluding 1) among recipients of ROTARIX (N = 5,082) as compared with placebo recipients (N = 2,902): irritability (ROTARIX 11.4%, placebo 8.7%) and flatulence (ROTARIX 2.2%, placebo 1.3%). Serious Adverse Events (SAEs): Infants were monitored for serious adverse events that occurred in the 31-day period following vaccination in 8 clinical studies. Serious adverse events occurred in 1.7% of recipients of ROTARIX (N = 36,755) as compared with 1.9% of placebo recipients (N = 34,454). Among placebo recipients, diarrhea (placebo 0.07%, ROTARIX 0.02%), dehydration (placebo 0.06%, ROTARIX 0.02%), and gastroenteritis (placebo 0.3%, ROTARIX 0.2%) occurred at a statistically higher incidence (95% CI of Relative Risk excluding 1) as compared with recipients of ROTARIX.
Deaths:
During the entire course of 8 clinical studies, there were 68 (0.19%) deaths following administration of ROTARIX (N = 36,755) and 50 (0.15%) deaths following placebo administration (N = 34,454). The most commonly reported cause of death following vaccination was pneumonia, which was observed in 19 (0.05%) recipients of ROTARIX and 10 (0.03%) placebo recipients (Relative Risk: 1.74, 95% CI: 0.76, 4.23).
