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This is an exciting time in the history of vaccines; even as our children
reap the dramatic benefits of our national immunization programs, new
vaccines are being developed and older ones improved. The results of this
continued progress have led to an increasingly complex routine immunization
schedule and a rise in the total number of vaccine doses required to
completely immunize your child. Ongoing monitoring of vaccine safety by the
FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and CDC (Centers for Disease Control) also
leads to occasional changes in routine vaccination. As a parent, it's hard to
keep up with all of the changes. This update is designed to make you aware of
some important new developments and how they could affect your child.
New combination vaccines
The idea is not new; by combining vaccines against
more than one disease in a single injection, we reduce the total number of
injections for each child. Many new combination vaccines are now available
(one example combines Hepatitis B with Haemophilus influenza type b), and
more are on the way.
Poliovirus Vaccine
Beginning in January 2000, the CDC started recommending
only IPV (inactivated poliovirus vaccine) be used. This is a killed form of
the virus and eliminates the chance of a child contracting the disease from
the vaccine. Previously the schedule called for two injections of IPV,
followed by doses of OPV (Oral Poliovirus Vaccine) given by mouth).
Rotavirus Vaccine
The use of Rotavirus vaccine was recently suspended. It
was developed to prevent a form of viral diarrhea that can be severe in
children under 2. It became part of the routine immunization schedule in
January of 1999. But in the first half of 1999 the national Vaccine Adverse
Event Reporting System (VAERS) of the FDA and CDC detected a possible
association between the vaccine and cases of intussusception, a bowel
obstruction that occurs when part of the bowel folds into itself. Symptoms
are severe abdominal pain that may come and go with or without bloody stools.
It appears that there may have been an increased risk for this condition in
the weeks immediately following vaccine administration. Because of the
possible association with this condition, use of this vaccine was suspended
in July of 1999 pending further study.
Thimerosal
This is an organic mercury-based preservative used widely in
vaccines for many decades. Though there has never been any evidence of
adverse reaction to thimerosal, a study by the FDA suggested that with the
current immunization schedule the cumulative exposure to mercury in the first
six months of life could exceed some government-recommended limits. These
limits are set well below dangerous levels, and there is no indication that
any child has been harmed. Because very high mercury levels can damage the
nervous system, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that
vaccine manufacturers eliminate this preservative from their vaccines. In the
meantime, your doctor may delay hepatitis immunization for your child until
six months of age if your child is not at increased risk for hepatitis. Other
immunizations should be given as scheduled, since the benefit of protecting
your child from these vaccine-preventable diseases outweighs the theoretical
risk of thimerosal. Soon thimerosal will be eliminated from the vaccine
supply, making vaccines even safer.
Sources of Vaccine Information
The Internet has created an explosion of
information about vaccines, not all of it reliable. The best sources for
accurate information are:
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