2012 Vaccine Schedule for Children Is Released
- By BSTQ Staff
The 2012 vaccine schedule for children and adolescents incorporates changes for the use of several vaccines adopted over the past year. The schedule, which was approved by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, and the American Academy of Family Physicians, contains three schedules: one for children from birth through 6 years, one for children and teens ages 7 through 18, and a catch-up schedule.
Among the most notable changes in the new schedule, the meningococcal vaccine guidance was changed to reflect Menactra’s approval for children as young as 9 months old. Menveo can be administered in children as young as 2 years old. Also, recommendations were added for the routine administration of a booster dose of either vaccine, and for administration of either vaccine to children at increased risk for meningococcal disease.
Other changes include a routine recommendation of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for boys; the timing of doses of hepatitis B vaccine and hepatitis B immune globulin after administration of the birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine, which was clarified for infants weighing less than 4.4 pounds or for heavier infants who were born to mothers positive for hepatitis B surface antigen; the administration of a single dose of the tetanus and diphtheria toxoids and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine in children ages 7 to 10 who are not fully immunized, as a substitute for a single dose of tetanus and diphtheria (Td) vaccine in the catch-up series; the readministration of two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine in infants ages 6 to 11 months who are traveling internationally, with the first dose administered at ages 12 to 15 months and the second dose administered at ages 4 to 6 years; and the modification to administer the second dose of the hepatitis A vaccine six to 18 months after the initial dose.
The footnotes in the schedule also were updated to note that the inactivated poliovirus vaccine is not routinely recommended for those 18 years and older. And the influenza footnotes reflect the recommendations for this year’s flu season: Children ages 6 months to 8 years who did not receive at least one dose of the seasonal vaccine last year should receive two doses this year, separated by at least four weeks. Those who did receive one dose of the influenza vaccine last year need only one dose this year.