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Vaccines Recommended Schedule
By: Dr. Bhumi Upadhyay, Northeast Pediatrics
Immunizations are an important part of pediatric care and the recommended
schedule is constantly changing. We are all familiar with tetanus, pertussis,
polio, MMR, chicken pox, etc. vaccines, but new ones are being added to the
schedule - pertussis boosters, meningococcal, rotavirus, and the HPV vaccine.
How will our children handle all this vaccines? Should we worry about too many
vaccines or are we protecting our children? We will discuss the benefits of each
of these new vaccines.
Pertussis, also known as the whooping cough, is the only vaccine preventable
disease, which is on the rise in the US. This is due to the waning immunity from
the previously immunized people. Although, it is a mild illness in the adults,
it can be a life threatening condition for infants, causing hospitalizations and
deaths. A pertussis booster is recommended at the 11-12 year old visit and every
10 years thereafter. It is in combination with the tetanus booster. Protecting
our adolescents and adults will protect our little infants who are not immunized
or only partially immunized. The infants are still vulnerable until their third
dose of DTaP at 6 months old.
Meningococcal meningitis has two peak incidences in the pediatric population-one
in infants < 1 years old and again in the adolescents. Incidence is higher in
infants but mortality is higher in adolescents. About 75% of the meningococcal
meningitis is caused by 4 strains. Therefore, the quadrivalent vaccine can
greatly decrease the incidence. It is now a recommended vaccine in our
adolescent population either at the 11-12 year old visit or thereafter. Students
living in dormitories are at a greater risk of meningitis and should be given
the vaccine prior to going to college if not caught up earlier.
Rotavirus is the horrible “stomach flu,” which we all have encountered in some
way. It causes vomiting and diarrhea and fever in all age groups. Our infants
are at greatest risk of dehydration and hospitalization. Four in every 5
children less than 5 years old will have the rotavirus. One in 7 will have a
doctor’s visit, and 1 in 70 will be hospitalized and 1 in 200.000 will result in
death every year. It is transmitted person to person via fecal oral
transmission. A child can have over 100 billion virus particles in one gram of
stool during the illness. It is highly contagious and can cause 10-20 diarrhea
stools a day. The vaccine covers 5 strains of the rotavirus, which are known to
cause 96% of all rotavirus illnesses. The vaccine appears to decrease severe
illness by 98% and overall incidence by 74%. This vaccine is approved as 3 doses
at 2, 4, and 6 months of age.
Many new vaccines are introduced and approved. Please talk to your doctor about
these vaccines and other changes in the vaccine schedule that is not covered
here.
Dr. Bhumi Upadhyay, a Board Certified Pediatrician and active member of the
American Academy of Pediatrics, graduated from the University of Miami six year
Honors Program in Medicine. If you have questions about this article or your
child email Dr. Bhumi at
drbhumi@northeastkids.com. We are accepting new patients please call to get
to know the doctor 526-PEDS, visit
www.northeastkids.com
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