New Schedules for Vaccinations

Children and adolescents can now be protected against more diseases than ever before if they are vaccinated according to the recommendations of the 2007 Childhood and Adolescent Immunization Schedules that were just jointly issued by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). These schedules are, in turn, endorsed in New York by the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), local health departments and the Medical Society of the State of New York (MSSNY). The 2007 schedules include two new recommended vaccines - for rotavirus and human papillomavirus (HPV), plus revisions on what ages and how often to administer varicella (chickenpox) and childhood influenza vaccines.

Also, for the first time, the recommended childhood and adolescent immunization schedule will be divided into two schedules - one for children from birth to six years of age and a second for those seven to 18 years of age. This change reflects the growing importance of ensuring timely adolescent vaccination. The 2007 schedules include the following additions and changes.
New Rotovirus (Rota) Vaccine for Infants - Infants can now be immunized against rotovirus if they receive three doses of the new oral rotavirus vaccine at 2, 4 and 6 months of age. The vaccine can be administered to infants as young as 6 weeks, with 4- to 10-week intervals, but should not be given to infants older than 32 weeks.

Rotavirus is a virus that causes severe diarrhea in babies and young children. It is responsible for more that 200,000 emergency room visits, 55,000 to 70,0000 hospitalizations, and 20 to 60 deaths each year in the United States.

Second dose of Varicella (chickenpox) vaccine - A second dose of varicella (chickenpox) vaccine is now recommended for children 4 years to 6 years of age to further protect them against the disease. About 15 to 20 percent of children who received only one dose of varicella vaccine are not fully protected against chickenpox. The first dose is recommended at 12 to 15 months of age.
Older children, adolescents and adults should also receive a catch-up second dose if they previously had received only one dose. Before the licensure of varicella vaccine, there were on average about 13,500 hospitalizations and 150 deaths from complications of varicella each year in the United States.

Influenza vaccine also for older children and caregivers - Recommendations for the childhood influenza vaccination has expanded to include children 24 months to 5 years old, as well as their household contacts and caregivers. The previous recommendation was for children 6 months through 23 months. Now children from 6 months through 59 months should receive annual influenza vaccination. This recommendation was expanded because influenza often causes serious illness in children 2 to 5 years old. The number of emergency room and healthcare provider visits related to influenza is higher for 2 to 5 year olds than for healthy older children. Children 6 to 24 months of age are nearly as likely to be hospitalized for complications from influenza as are adults 65 and older.

New human papillomavirus (hpv) vaccine for young females - Future generations of women can be protected against the human papillomavirus (HPV) if they receive three doses of the new HPV vaccine, starting with the first between age 11 and 12 years, followed by the second dose two months later and the third dose at least four months after the second dose. The series can also be initiated anytime between ages 9 through 26, and if an inocculation is missed, it can be completed until age 26.

HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer in women. More than 20 million men and women in the United States are currently infected with HPV, and 6.2 million new infections occur each year. A vaccine for boys is still under development.
Meningococcal vaccine now
available

Although the recommendations for meningococcal vaccine remain the same as before, children who did not receive this vaccine at the recommended age of 11- 12 because of the previous shortage, should now be scheduled for immunization.
Summation of recommended
vaccines

Because of the timing of administration is complex and the most appropriate vaccine product varies with circumstances, a doctor should oversee all immunizations. A simplified summary of the old and new recommendations in the revised charts is, nevertheless, listed here. By age 6, children should be immunized against these diseases: rotavirus, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, haemophilus influenzae type b, pneumonia, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, hepatitis A and B, meningitis and flu (annually). By age 18, they should have received additional vaccines against many of these diseases, and girls should be immunized against cervical cancer caused by HPV.
Proof of immunization required by schools and child care centers

It should also be noted that proof of immunization against most of the diseases by the ages listed on these charts is mandatory for entry into schools and child care centers in New York.

Additional information
Your general physician or pediatrician can answer questions about the new recommendations and before administering each vaccine will give you a Vaccine Information Statement with printed information about the disease(s) and vaccine.
Information is likewise available online and by phone. Valuable sources include the CDC (http://www.cdc.gov/; 800-CDC-INFO, 800-232-4636), the NYSDOH (http://www.health.state.ny.us/prevention/immunization/index.htm, 518-473-4437), the American Academy of Pediatrics (http://www.cispimmunize.org/) and the American Academy of Family Physicians (http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/clinical/immunizationres.html).
The two new 2007 immunization schedules are linked to these sites and can be accessed directly at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5551a7.htm?s_cid=mm5551a7_e.

This information is provided by the Medical Society of the State of New York (MSSNY). For more health-related information and referrals to physicians in your community, log on to MSSNY’s website at www.mssny.org or contact your local county medical society.