Vaccination schedule
Over the past 2 decades, the recommended vaccination schedule in the United States and elsewhere has grown rapidly and become more complicated as many new vaccines have been developed and marketed. A vaccine is an antigenic preparation used to produce active immunity to a disease, in order to prevent or reduce the effects of infection by any natural or 'wild' pathogen.
In 1900, the smallpox vaccine was the only one administered to children. By the 1960s, children routinely received five vaccines, for protection against (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, and smallpox, and as many as eight shots by two years of age.
The US Centers for Disease Control now recommends vaccination against at least eleven diseases. By two years of age, children routinely receive as many as 20 vaccine injections , and might receive up to five shots during one visit to the doctor.
What lies ahead
The many additions to the schedule of recommended innoculations in recent years foreshadows the entrance into the rapidly expanding market of additional competitors seeking to add their new products to the CDC's schedule of recommended shots. Pharmaceutical companies are jockeying for position to have individual vaccines approved ahead of the competition, while the industry as a whole is simultaneously seeking passage of as many as ten legislative bills in the United States Congress to shield vaccine manufacturers against potential liability for vaccine injures. Senator Richard Burr (R-North Carolina) has introduced the most far reaching legislation, known as Bioshield Two, that would further shield drug makers from vaccine injury liability while streamlining vaccine approval safeguards to allow new vaccines to reach markets sooner.
Dr. Thomas Saari, spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics, says many more vaccines are in the works, "We project over the next ten years that we'll add one to two new vaccines a year."
Dr. Andrew Wakefield has said, "The next few years are likely to see the introduction of ever greater numbers of vaccines and the possibility of using combination vaccines containing up to 16 different infectious diseases, is already being discussed in the US."
Duration of immunity
It is often assumed vaccines received childhood will afford lifelong protection. Generally this is true, except some adults were never vaccinated as children, newer vaccines were not available when some adults were children, and immunity fades over time, while aging increases susceptibility to disease.
Recommended schedules
=Childhood vaccinations
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the following four vaccines for teenagers and one for college students:
- Varicella (chicken pox) vaccine
- Hepatitis B vaccines
- Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR vaccine)
- Tetanus-Diphtheria vaccine
- Meningococcus vaccine (college students)
Adult vaccinations
The 2005 adult immunization schedule recommended by the CDC for people over 18 years old is as follows:
- Tetanus-Diphtheria Vaccine (all adults, every 10 years)
- Influenza (Flu) Vaccine (adults 50 and older)
- Pneumococcal Vaccine (adults 65 and older)
- Hepatitis B Vaccine (adults at risk)
- Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) Vaccine (susceptible adults)
- Varicella (chickenpox) Vaccine (susceptible adults)
- Vaccines for travelers
Vaccines recommended for those age 50 and older:
- Influenza vaccine
Vaccines needed for those age 65 and older
- Pneumococcal vaccine
Vaccines recommended for healthcare workers:
- Hepatitis B
- Influenza vaccine (annually)
- Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) vaccine
- Varicella (chickenpox) vaccine
Controversy
Although the MMR vaccine controversy has gained widespread publicity, largely because of its impact upon immunization rates and herd immunity, media coverage of the accompanying controversy surrounding an evident autism epidemic and its impact has been minimal, according to vaccine critic Edward Yazbak.[1]
Vaccine Information Statements
In the US, the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act requires all health-care providers to provide parents or patients with copies of Vaccine Information Statements before administering vaccines.
See also
- 2000 Simpsonwood CDC conference
- Generation Rescue
- Iatrogenesis
- National Vaccine Information Center
- Safe Minds
- Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System
References
- CDC.gov (pdf) - 'Recommended Childhood and Adolescent Immunization Schedule United States 2005', Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
- CDC.gov - 'Recommendations: Adult Immunization Schedule (Anyone over 18 years old)', National Immunization Program
External links
- InformedChoice.info - 'MMR vaccine and the autism epidemic: In a compulsory inoculation program, it is the responsibility of the developers, promoters and enforcers to prove safety and efficacy'
- VRAN.org - 'Vaccines: Pneumococcal Vaccine - Looking at the Bigger Picture' (adapted from ditorial)Vaccine Risk Awareness Network (Fall 2000)
- Whale.to - 'Universal Immunization: Medical Miracle or Masterful Mirage', Dr. Raymond Obomsawin
- Whale.to - 'Prevnar: A Critical Review of a New Childhood Vaccine', Michael Horwin, MA (September 19, 2000)