Immunize on Time
Information about Your Baby's Shots
Introduction
Vaccines save lives but they are only effective if your infant gets them
at the right age and time. Vaccines are recommended to protect your child
when she/he is most at risk for infectious diseases. For the most protection,
all children should be fully immunized by age two. Childhood immunizations
are a vital part of the basic health care that is provided in a medical
home setting. To make certain that the vaccines are administered to your
child at the correct age and time, there is an established recommended
schedule for use. Once your child has been immunized, an immunization
registry is very important to maintain a permanent record of your child's
immunization history.
Medical Home
Every infant and child needs a "medical home". A medical home
can be a doctor's office, hospital outpatient clinic, or a community health
center. The staff at the medical home can help you get consistent and
ongoing health care for your child. An important part of having a healthy
infant is getting immunizations at the right age and the right time. The
medical home has a large role in providing the required immunizations
to your child. According to the guidelines established by the Advisory
Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), all children should be immunized
at regular health care visits.
Immunizations
More than 11,000 babies are born every day in the United States. Unless
they are fully immunized by age two, these infants are at risk for acquiring
diseases that can lead to life-long illness that will affect their quality
of life or that can even cause death. It is well documented that immunizations
protect children from these childhood diseases: measles, mumps, rubella
(German measles), polio, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough),
haemophilus influenza type b, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, chicken pox (varicella),
pneumococcal infections, and influenza.
The measles virus causes rash, cough, runny nose, eye irritation and fever. This virus can also lead to ear infection, pneumonia, seizures, brain damage and death. The mumps virus causes fever, headache, and swollen glands. Some complications may be deafness, painful swelling of the testicles or ovaries, meningitis (infection of the brain and spinal cord covering), and rarely, death. Rubella virus leads to rash, mild fever, and arthritis (mostly in women). Any woman who gets rubella while she is pregnant may have a miscarriage or a baby born with serious birth defects. These viruses are spread from person to person through the air. The measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine can prevent these diseases.
Polio is a disease caused by a virus that enters a child's (or adult's) body through the mouth. This virus may cause paralysis (cannot move arm or leg). People who get polio usually die because the muscles that help them breathe are paralyzed. Polio used to be very common in the United States and killed thousands of people every year. The inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) can prevent polio.
Diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis are serious diseases caused by bacteria. Diphtheria and pertussis are spread from person to person, and tetanus enters the body through cuts or wounds. Diphtheria causes a thick covering in the back of the throat, which leads to breathing problems, paralysis, heart failure, and even death. Tetanus (lockjaw) causes painful tightening of muscles (usually all over the body) and leads to "locking" of the jaw so that the person cannot open his mouth or swallow. One out of ten cases of tetanus ends in death. Pertussis (whooping cough) causes coughing spells that make it hard for infants to eat, drink, or breathe. These coughing spells can last for weeks and lead to pneumonia, seizures, brain damage and death. Diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccine (DTaP) can help prevent these diseases. DTaP has replaced DTP that is no longer used in the United States.
Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) is a serious disease caused by bacteria that usually affects children under five years of age. These bacteria spread from person to person and before Hib vaccine were the leading cause of bacterial meningitis in children under five. Hib disease can also cause pneumonia, severe swelling in the throat making it hard for the child to breathe, infections of blood, joints, bones, and may cause death. Hib vaccine can prevent Hib disease.
Hepatitis A is a serious liver disease caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV). HAV is present in the stool of persons with hepatitis A. It is spread by close personal contact and sometimes by eating food or drinking water with hepatitis A virus. Hepatitis A can cause severe stomach pains and diarrhea, flu like illness, and jaundice (yellow skin or eyes). Anyone with hepatitis A can easily pass the disease to other family members. Hepatitis A vaccine can prevent hepatitis A infection.
Hepatitis B is another potentially serious liver disease that is caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). HBV can lead to short term (acute) illness that causes loss of appetite, diarrhea and vomiting, and jaundice or long term (chronic) illness such as liver damage (cirrhosis), liver cancer and death. Hepatitis B virus is spread through contact with blood or body fluids of an infected person. About one third of people who are infected with the HBV do not know how they got it. Each year 4,000 to 5,000 people die from chronic hepatitis B infection. Hepatitis B vaccine can prevent hepatitis B infection.
Chicken pox (varicella) is a common childhood disease. The disease can be serious, especially in young infants and adults. The chicken pox virus is spread from person to person through the air or by contact with the fluid in the chicken pox blisters. The virus causes rash, itching, fever and tiredness. It can lead to severe skin infection, scars, pneumonia, brain damage, or death. A person can get a painful rash called shingles years after having chicken pox. Each year about 100 people in the United States die as a result of chicken pox. Chicken pox vaccine can prevent chicken pox. Most people who get the chicken pox vaccine will not get chicken pox. However, if someone who has been vaccinated gets chicken pox it is usually very mild and they will recover faster.
Infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria can cause serious illness and death. Invasive pneumococcal disease is the leading cause of bacterial meningitis in the United States. Other severe diseases from pneumococcal infection are blood infections and ear infections. Each year invasive pneumococcal disease is responsible for about 200 deaths among children under five years. Pneumococcal infection can also lead to pneumonia, deafness, and brain damage. Children under two years are at the highest risk for serious disease. Pneumococcus bacteria are spread from person to person through close contact. Prevention of pneumococcal infections is very important because the bacteria have become resistant to some of the drugs used, making it hard to effectively treat these infections. Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine can help prevent serious pneumococcal disease.
Influenza ("flu") is a serious disease caused by a virus that spreads from infected persons to nose or throat of others. Influenza can cause fever, cough, sore throat, headache, chills and muscle aches. Everyone is at risk for getting influenza. Influenza vaccine can prevent influenza. Since the influenza viruses change often, the influenza vaccine is updated each year. Some people may still get the flu after getting the vaccine, but they usually have a milder case.
Every year, in January, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) publish the "Recommended Childhood Immunization Schedule" to assist health care providers in determining the appropriate age for the child to get the correct immunization. Generally, the immunization schedule for infants is birth, two months, four months, six months and twelve to eighteen months.
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Shots should be given at ages Birth 2 months 4 months 6 months 12-18 months |
Before the infant is immunized, parent(s) must be given a copy of the most recent Vaccine Information Statement (VIS), which has information about the specific vaccine(s) your child needs. The VIS is provided by CDC and is available for all the recommended vaccines.
Immunization Registry
The immunization registry is a confidential computerized information system
that is used to collect and store immunization histories. This registry
allows authorized health care providers to share immunization information
easily and quickly. Some of the benefits of enrolling your infant(s) in
the registry include: your child's immunization status is kept up to date,
the immunizations are given on time, your child does not get uncalled
for immunizations, a permanent record of all the vaccines that your child
receives is always available, and it is easy to request and get a copy
of the immunization record whenever you move or change medical homes.
Any health care provider as well as your local or state health department
can provide you with more information about the immunization registry.
Conclusion
Vaccines help control many of the infectious diseases that were once very
common in this country. An ongoing collaboration between the health care
worker and parent will make it easier for children to get their immunizations
at the right age and time. To prevent your child from getting too many
or not getting enough immunizations, consider enrollment in an immunization
registry. Keep all immunization records in a safe place and bring all
immunization records to every health care appointment at your child's
medical home.
REFERENCES
www.ecbt.org/issue.htm accessed June 12, 2003
www.vaccines.ashastd.org/answers.html accessed June 13, 2003
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. General recommendations on immunization: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the American Academy of Family Physicians. MMWR 2002; 51 (No. RR-2): 1-36.
www.partnersforimmunization.org/guidebook.html accessed and copy downloaded March 12, 2003