Vaccination Schedule

Pediarix: Contains Diptheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Polio, Hepatitis B
Hib: Haemophilus influenzae
Prevnar 13: Streptococcus pneumoniae strains (1, 3, 4, 5, 6A, 6B, 7F, 9V, 14, 18C, 19A, 19F, and 23F),
Rotarix: Rotavirus
MMR: Mumps, Measles, Rubella
Varicella: Chicken pox
HPV: Human Papillomavirus

Birth: Hepatitis B
2 months: Pediarix, Hib, Prevnar 13, Rotarix
4 months: Pediarix, Hib, Prevnar 13, Rotarix
6 months: Pediarix, Hib Prevnar 13
12 months: Hib, Prevnar, , Hepatitis A
15 months: MMR, Varicella
18 months: Hepatitis A, DTaP
4 years: , DTaP, Polio
5 years: MMR, Varicella
10 years: TDaP booster
11-12 years: Meningococcal, HPV Vaccine
16-18 years: Meningococcal B Vaccine (2 doses)

Flu Vaccine

Annual flu vaccines will protect against influenza viruses that research indicates will be most common during the flu season. Every year the Flu vaccine changes and thus is recommended yearly. Flu Vaccine first offered at 6 months of age with a flu booster 4 weeks later.

Once infant or child under 8 years of age has received 2 flu shots in one flu season, only one flu vaccine needed for the subsequent flu season.

TDaP Booster

Recommended every 10 years

HPV Vaccine (GARDASIL-9)

Gardasil-9 is licensed, safe, and effective for females and males ages 9 through 26 years. CDC recommends that all 11 or 12 year old girls and boys get the series of HPV vaccines to protect against cervical cancer, genital warts, as well as some cancers of the vulva, vagina and anus.

What is the recommended schedule (or timing) of the HPV doses (shots)?

• Individuals less than 15 years old: 2 doses separated by 6 to 12 months
• Individuals 15 to 26 years old: 3 doses according to the original schedule (0,1,to 2 months, and 6 months)
• Immune-compromised individuals 9 to 26 years old: 3 doses according to the original schedule
• Individuals 9 to 14 years old who already received 2 doses: if the two doses were separated by less than 5 months, a third dose is needed

Why 2 doses?

The 3-dose HPV is a prime-prime-boost. The third dose is important for the development of the immunologic memory. Because younger recipients have a better immunologic response than older ones, when the 2-dose regimens were compared with the 3-dose series, 2 doses were sufficient in the younger group, but not in the older recipients.

Because fewer doses are always preferred, and because getting adolescents and younger teens into offices for two visits instead of three may be easier, the two schedules based on age at receipt were recommended.

Is the HPV vaccine safe and effective?

FDA has licensed the vaccine as safe and effective. The vaccine was tested in thousands of people around the world. These studies showed no serious side effects. Common, mild side effects included pain where the shot was given, fever, headache, and nausea. As with all vaccines, CDC and FDA continue to monitor the safety of these vaccines very carefully. These vaccine safety studies continue to show that HPV vaccines are safe.

Meningococcal Vaccines

How are the meningococcal vaccines made?

Two types of meningococcal vaccines are available. One has been available for several years and protects against four of the five types of meningococcus (A, C, Y, and W-135). The other version is newer and protects against the fifth type of meningococcus, type B.

Meningococcus A, C, Y and W-135 vaccine

This meningococcal vaccine is similar to those for pneumococcus and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) in that protection against disease occurs when one develops antibodies to the sugar (or polysaccharide) that coats the bacterium. A meningococcal vaccine, made using only the polysaccharide coating of meningococcus, has been available for several years. Unfortunately, children less than 2 years of age are not very good at making immune responses to the polysaccharide alone.

In order for young children to make an immune response, the polysaccharide must first be attached to a harmless protein. (see How Are Vaccines Made?). The polysaccharide attached to the protein is known as a conjugate vaccine. There are two conjugated meningococcal vaccines:

• One, available since 2005, can be given to people between 9 months and 55 years of age
• The second, available since February 2010, can be used in people between 2 and 55 years of age

In both vaccines, the polysaccharides have been stripped from the surface of four of the five different types of meningococcal bacteria that cause disease and each is linked to a harmless protein. The four conjugated polysaccharides are combined into a single shot.

Meningococcal B Vaccine

Although there are only five different types of meningococcus that commonly cause disease (types A, B, C, Y and W-135), it has been very difficult to make a vaccine that includes type B, and meningococcus type B accounts for two-thirds of meningococcal infections in infants and one-third of meningococcal infections in adolescents and adults. Two vaccines to prevent meningococcus type B were licensed for use in adolescents in 2015 — Bexsero® and Trumenba®. Both of these vaccines were made using proteins, not polysaccharides, that reside on the surface of the bacteria. Trumenba contains two proteins, and Bexsero contains four.

Who should get the meningococcal vaccine?

The A, C, Y, W-135 meningococcal vaccine is recommended for:

• Adolescents and teens 11 to 18 years old
• Children and adults without a spleen
• Children and adults who lack a particular group of serum proteins, called complement proteins, that help the body fight infection
• College freshmen living in dormitories
• People exposed to someone infected with meningococcus during an outbreak if the type of meningococcus is one contained in the vaccine (types A, C, Y or W-135)
• Children and adults who will be traveling to sub-Saharan Africa between December and June
• Military recruits
• Lab workers who work with the bacteria

The meningococcal B vaccine is recommended for:

• All 16- to 18-year olds
• People aged 10 years and older who have complement deficiencies, no spleen or a spleen that does not function
• Lab workers who work with the bacteria
• People exposed to someone infected with meningococcus type B during an outbreak, such as on a college campus

Does the meningococcal vaccine have side effects?

The meningococcal vaccines may cause pain or tenderness where the shot is given, but do not cause any serious side effects. Although a possible association with Guillian-Barre Syndrome (GBS) was investigated, no causal association was found.

Link to Nemours: http://kidshealth.org/