Vaccination and Immunization

Bacteremia is now a rare event in previously healthy children aged 3 to 36 months because of the introduction of routine immunization with the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV).

Among concerns with administering these multiple and frequent immunizations in young children are the potential pain and adverse effects associated with injections. Along with inducing pain in some children, the early negative experience of needle-related procedures can interfere with adherence to immunization schedules and create long-lasting effects of anxiety and stress around needle-related procedures that remain into adulthood.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have released updated pediatric immunization schedules for 2017.

Findings of a recently published observational retrospective cohort study point to a need for increased efforts to improve timely completion of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine series among boys.

A comparison of 4 levels of pain management of routine vaccine injections found that of the remedies tried, only liposomal lidocaine applied at the injection site provided consistent relief.

In a recently published essay to address this question, the authors suggest that pediatricians may present human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine as optional or less urgent than other adolescent vaccines because they do not often read or hear about their patients’ being affected by HPV-associated cancers, which generally strike older populations.

To reduce human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cancers, pediatricians must strongly recommend the underutilized HPV vaccine in preteens.

Enhancing parental knowledge about vaccine science is one strategy for promoting vaccination adherence and overcoming vaccine hesitancy. An alternative approach is to target school-aged children as they are the parents of the future.

Egg allergies are no longer a contraindication for influenza vaccination, but intranasal mists won’t be an alternative for the shot during this year’s flu season, either, according to new recommendations released by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Recent data has revealed the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV), also known as the “nasal spray” vaccine, to be grossly ineffective, leading to the ACIP’s decision not to recommend its usage. As such, healthcare providers must be judicious in their choice of influenza vaccine with their patients.

Flu shots given to mothers during pregnancy provided protection for their babies against three common strains of influenza for several weeks after birth, according to a new report.

Maintaining the currently recommended vaccination schedule of influenza, pneumococcal conjugate, and diphtheria/tetanus/acellular pertussis vaccines in young children as put forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is likely the best way to manage immunization in this patient population despite the slightly increased risk for febrile seizure.

An analysis of data on the incidence of pertussis shows that although acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine had a positive impact among adolescents in the 4 years after it was introduced in 2005, in 2010 pertussis incidence in this age group began to increase more rapidly than it did in all other age groups.

Children with a history of asthma may be at increased risk for breakthrough varicella infection, according to a new retrospective, population-based case-control study.

Findings of a new study should alleviate concern that immunization puts preterm infants at risk for clinical deterioration.

For Contemporary Pediatrics, Dr Bobby Lazzara explains key findings from a nationally representative survey published in Clinical Pediatrics. The survey asked parents what they wanted to know about vaccines and how they wanted providers to handle their concerns.

Physicians who opt against recommending HPV vaccination because they assume their patient is too young or not sexually active, or that the parent will refuse, are missing an opportunity to protect against a dangerous virus, according to a new study.

Outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases like measles and pertussis have led pediatricians to take a hard line, sometimes dismissing patients who are non-compliant with immunizations. A new study examines the prevalence-and consequences-of patient dismissal.

The currently recommended childhood immunization schedule put forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is designed to protect infants and young children from 14 harmful and potentially deadly diseases before a child’s second birthday.

Findings of a new prospective Swedish population-based cohort study provide further reassurance about the safety of H1N1 vaccination in pregnant women.

Many pediatricians believe that if they pay $30 for an immunization, as long as a payer reimburses them more than $30, they’re OK, said Chip Hart. The fact is, that’s not the case, he explained during his presentation “The Business of Immunization: Protecting Kids without Destroying Your Practice.”

Women who receive the prophylactic bivalent human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine within 90 days of pregnancy are not at an increased risk for miscarriage, underscoring the safety of the vaccine. The proven safety of the bivalent HPV vaccine should quell the concerns of women and their health care practitioners.

The CDC now recommends that high-risk infants undergo postvaccination serologic testing between 9 and 12 months, updated from 9-18 months. The new vaccination interval can better cover at risk infants from HBV infection and also help ensure a higher adherence to the immunoprophylaxis protocol.

If there is no link between vaccines and conditions such as autism, why do pediatricians spend so much time talking about this topic with parents?

The ongoing US measles outbreak underscores the importance of childhood vaccines-opponents of vaccination notwithstanding, say experts.