Everyone's Health

Recommended shots for children and young adults, full adults and elders too

A plethora of pokes

The growing list of childhood vaccinations reads like an alphabet soup: Hib, HepA, HepB, IPV, PCV, MCV4, DTaP, Tdap, varicella and influenza.

Outbreaks of mumps, whooping cough and other vaccine-preventable infections have shown that sometimes immunized people still can catch the disease. So more booster shots are needed.

Doctors have been giving childhood pertussis – or whooping cough – vaccinations for decades. So some were surprised by reports of vaccinated children coming down with the illness in middle school and high school.

“We've learned the whooping cough vaccine we thought was going to last forever wears off by the time they reach adolescence,” said Dr. Carol Baker, a Houston-based pediatrician who serves on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a panel that helps set national vaccination guidelines.

Here are the shots the government recommends currently for children and young people:

Hepatitis B: Three doses; one at birth, the second at 1-4 months, the third at 6-18 months.

Hepatitis A: Two doses; one between 12 and 23 months of age, the second at least 6 months after the first.

Inactivated poliovirus (IPV): Four doses; at 2 months, 4 months, 6-18 months and a booster between 4 and 6 years.

Rotavirus: Three doses; the first at between 6 and 12 weeks of age. The series should be completed by the time the child is 32 weeks old.

Haemophilus Influenzae Type B (Hib): Three or four doses, depending on the brand used; doses are given at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months and 12-15 months.

Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR): Two doses; the first at 12-15 months, the second at least four weeks after the first, but usually at 4-6 years.

Pneumococcal conjugate (PCV): Four doses; at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months and 12-15 months.

Diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis (DTaP): Five doses; at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months and 15-18 months of age. A booster is given at 4-6 years, when a child first enters school.

Tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis (Tdap): A version of DTaP for older children. One dose at age 11-12.

Varicella (chickenpox): One dose is recommended at 12-18 months.

Influenza: Annual shots for children ages 6 months to 5 years.

Meningococcal, or bacterial meningitis (MCV4): Recommended for adolescents at high school and college entry.

Human papillomavirus (HPV): The new vaccine combats cervical cancer. The vaccine advisory panel last month recommended the three-dose series be given to girls, starting at age 11-12.

Source: AP

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