Wow That's a Lot of Vaccinations!
If you had a new born baby girl today you can expect that she will receive immunizations for 17 different diseases (boys will receive 16). For each disease the number of doses required to provide immunity will vary from 1 up to a possible 18 between birth and 18 years of age. That means the potential for over 80 immunizations.
Thankfully for our children science has figured out how to combine multiple vaccinations into a single shot and how to make many of them oral immunizations that do not require a shot at all. This is really good news for those of us that turn squeamish at the sight of a needle.
The question for us today is what are all of these immunizations, when does my child need them and when did they start to use them? The table contains a summary of this information for each immunization.
| Disease | Abbreviation | # of doses | Age given | When first licensed (US) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hepatitis B | HepB | 3 Doses | Birth to 18 months | 1981 |
| Rotavirus | Rota | 3 Doses | 2 months to 6 months | 1998 |
| Diphtheria | DTaP, TDaP, or Td | 7 Doses | 2 months to 18 years | 1923 |
| Tetanus | DTaP, TDaP, or Td | 7 Doses | 2 months to 18 years | 1927 |
| Pertussis | DTaP or TDaP | 7 Doses | 2 months to 18 years | 1915 |
| Haemophilus influenzae type b | hib | 4 Doses | 2 months to 15 months | 1985 |
| Pneumococcal | PCV or PPV | 4 Doses | 2 months to 15 months | 1977 |
| In activated Polio virus | IPV | 3 Doses | 2 months to 18 months | 1955 |
| Influenza | Flu | Up to 18 Doses | 6 months to 18 years | 1945 |
| Measles | MMR | 2 Doses | 12 months to 6 years | 1963 |
| Mumps | MMR | 2 Doses | 12 months to 6 years | 1967 |
| Rubella | MMR | 2 Doses | 12 months to 6 years | 1969 |
| Varicella (chicken pox) | Var | 2 Doses | 12 months to 6 years | 1995 |
| Hepatitis A | HepA | 2 Doses | 12 to 24 months | 2001 |
| Meningococcal (Meningitis) | MCV4 | 1 Dose | 11 to 12 years | 1974 |
| Females only | ||||
| Human Papillomavirus | HPV | 3 Doses | 11 to 12 years | 2006 |
| Optional additional immunizations | ||||
| Meningococcal (Meningitis) | MPSV or MCV | Up to 2 doses | 7 to 10 years and 13 to 18 years | 1974 |
| Hepatitis A | HepA | 1 Additional Dose | 2 to 6 years | 2001 |
The highlight links will take you to the Vaccine Information Statement (VIS) for each immunization.
The first column is the official term used for the immunization. Often, but not always, this is the disease name.
The second column is the common name that is typically used for the immunization. For combination vaccinations this is the combination name. For instance, MMR is a shot that is given that contains Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccinations.
The third column is the recommended number of times that the vaccine is given in order to create the necessary immunity.
The fourth column is the typical age range of the child when they receive the immunizations.
The fifth column is the first year in which the vaccine was approved for use in the United States. Note that the actual history may be a bit colored as the original vaccine may have been pulled from the market and a follow on vaccine approved at a later point in time. For instance, the Rotavirus vaccine was approved in 1998 and the next year the company that produced it took it off the US market because they believed the side effects were greater than the risk of the disease in the United States. A new version was approved and came into general use in 2006, which does not have the same issues. Mean while the original 1998 vaccine continued to be used in other areas of the world where the risk of the disease greatly out weighed the risks posed by the vaccine.
How will I know if my child has had all of the necessary immunizations?
That is why we created this web site, to help you keep track of your child's immunizations. You enter the immunizations that your child has received and the web site tells you what to expect and if any have been missed. You will get a regular email with the current status of your child's immunizations.
You can get started with a free trial right now!
Are all these vaccinations safe?
As you can see that many of the immunizations are were recently approved and this causes concern in some parents. There are several factors that work in your favor to allay these concerns.
The primary reason they are safe is that the approval process requires that the benefits out weigh the risks by a significant margin. In other words the results of a vaccination program have to be better than the disease. This can be seen in the new vaccine Gardasil that has been approved to prevent the HPV virus in women. The HPV virus is known to cause cervical cancer, which is the 7th leading cause of death among the women of the world. Clearly an immunization is to be preferred to death.
Further the FDA nag CDC are very cautious when approving new vaccinations. This caution means that in addition to under going some very extensive clinical trials the vaccination typically has been in use outside of the US for a period of time. This was the case for the Varicella vaccine.
Other vaccines have been in use for a period of time with high risk populations within the US prior to being approved for general use. The Hepatitis A vaccine is a case in point.
The real goal of immunization programs is the complete eradication of disease over time. The only way this happens is if the vast majority of the population becomes immunized over a long period of time. A case in point is the first vaccination, in the modern sense of the word, which was developed in 1798 by Edward Jenner for smallpox. After many years of immunizing for smallpox the disease disappeared and we no longer immunized children for smallpox.
Additional Immunizations
There are other immunizations that are not currently part of the regular childhood schedule. For instance, there is a version of the Varicella vaccine that is given to adults to prevent shingles. There is a vaccine for Lyme disease, that is not currently in use due to lack of interest. We have a vaccine for Anthrax that is kept in case of need.
If you plan to travel to certain high risk areas you may need some additional immunizations. If you have travel plans outside of the US, please consult with your doctor as to which additional immunizations you or your child might need.
Conclusions
You should have your child fully immunized in accordance with your doctor's recommendations. With the large number of immunizations required you should take the time to make sure your child doesn't miss a single scheduled immunization.