The Center for Disease Control in conjunction with the American Academy of Pediatrics recently released updated guidelines for childhood immunizations. In addition to the already developed guideline, the update expands on three different vaccinations.

Influenza Vaccine

The 2008 childhood immunization schedule has expanded the recommendation for the nasal influenza vaccine to include children 2 to 4 years of age without a history of asthma or wheezing. Previously, the vaccine recommendations were limited to healthy children 5 years of age and older. Now the vaccine is available and recommended for healthy children between 2 and 4. The nasal spray influenza vaccination is a weakened form of the live virus and is administered by spraying into the nose.

Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccine (MCV4)

This vaccination is against meningococcal disease and is now recommended as a routine vaccination for children 11 and 12 years of age along with adolescents 13 to 18 years of age who have not been previously vaccinated. The vaccine is also recommended for those adults with an increased risk of meningococcal disease, such as college students living in dorms.

Meningococcal disease occurs in an estimated 1,400 to 2,800 cases each year with approximately 76 percent of cases amongst 11 to 19 year olds being vaccine-preventable. Complications of meningococcal disease can be life threatening.

Pneumococcal Vaccine

The 2008 immunization schedule updates the recommendations for pneumococcal vaccine to include one dose of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV4) for incompletely vaccinated, healthy children between 24 and 59 months of age and the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV) for children age two and older with underlying medical conditions.

Routine childhood immunizations are part of routine well-child visits to your pediatrician or family physician. Keeping an accurate record of childhood immunizations is important to admissions to North Carolina public schools, most private schools, and many day care facilities.

Health insurance isn’t required for a child to receive immunizations, however the cost of routine child care can be expensive. The number of children without health insurance in North Carolina and other parts of the US has been on the rise in recent years, however most insurance plans, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina®, offer coverage of well-child visits and immunizations and many individual health insurance plans can be reasonably affordable.

Tags: Healthy Living //