Vaccines Help Keep Children Safe
New Immunizations can help protect your little ones from diarrhea and cervical cancer. Other shots guard against chickenpox and the flu.

Blue Cross UPDATE (Fall 2007)
By: Barbara Williams Cosentino

Never underestimate the importance of immunizations. "Making sure that children have their recommended immunizations is just sensible preventive care. It's one of the most effective ways of keeping them healthy and preventing significant disease," says Dennis A. Clements, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice chair of clinical services for the Department of Pediatrics at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.

"Because some diseases that were once rampant have become less common in recent years, people have forgotten how devastating illnesses such as pertussis [whooping cough] can be," he adds. U.S. whooping cough cases have risen in the past 20 years.

While some folks questions vaccine safety, harmful side effects are not likely, Dr. Clements says. Your child might face a low-grade fever, soreness at the site of the shot, or loose stool. Treat such problems with ibuprofen, acetaminophen, or other remedies your doctor suggests.

The list of recommended vaccines is drawn up by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with the nation's family physicians and pediatricians. The 2007 list adds:

• A rotavirus vaccine. To prevent most severe intestinal illness cause by this common bug, children get this oral vaccine three doses at 2, 4, and 6 months of age.
• More flu shots. The yearly flu vaccine is now urged for children 6 to 59 months old. Adults in contact with these kids should get shots, too.
• A second dose of varicella vaccine. To guard against chickenpox, varicella vaccine is now repeated at 4 to 6 years of age.
• A human papillomavirus vaccine. To help prevent viruses linked with cervical cancer, this vaccine is recommended for girls ages 11 to 12 years. Given in three doses over 6 months, it can be used as young as age 9.

In 2006, doctors and the CDC recommended a new tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis vaccine, Tdap, for many 11- and 12-year-olds; ask your doctor if your child needs it. They added a meningococcal conjugate vaccine for children ages 11 to 12 to help shield them from meningitis. High school and college freshmen should get this shot, too.

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Vaccines Help Keep Children Safe
New Immunizations can help protect your little ones from diarrhea and cervical cancer. Other shots guard against chickenpox and the flu. Read more...