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Doctors in a Bind When Parents Want to Delay, Skip Vaccines

Posted 28 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, Nov. 28 – Mistrust of childhood vaccines is causing some parents to request "alternative" schedules from doctors, either delaying or skipping some shots. And a new study suggests that most pediatricians are willing to go along with these requests – up to a point. "Parents seem to be regularly requesting alternative childhood immunization schedules," noted co-author Dr. Douglas John Opel, an acting assistant professor in the University of Washington's department of pediatrics. However, he added, "there needs to be more research into the effectiveness and safety of these schedules." The report is published in the Nov. 28 online edition of Pediatrics. The issue of parents ignoring standard guidelines on childhood vaccination schedules is worrying to many experts. One study, published in the November issue of Pediatrics, found that more than one in 10 parents in the United States ... Read more

Many Parents Skipping Kids' Shots, Putting Other Kids at Risk

Posted 31 Oct 2011 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, Oct. 31 – By signing an affidavit that says "all or some immunizations are contrary to my beliefs," California parents can bypass requirements that their children be fully immunized before attending school, and new research indicates that many are choosing to do so. The new study shows that at some "hot spot" schools, one out of every five kindergarten students is now going unvaccinated by parental choice – putting not only these kids at risk of preventable infectious diseases, but also other children at the school. These are schools "where we might be concerned that 'herd immunity' has been compromised," warned lead study author Alison Buttenheim, an assistant professor in family and community health at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. "Herd immunity is the protection offered to unimmunized people when most people are immunized or otherwise unsusceptible," ... Read more

Vaccinations Aren't Just for Kids

Posted 16 Sep 2011 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, Sept. 16 – Public health experts often focus immunization awareness efforts toward protecting children, and with good reason: Facing a potentially bewildering schedule of vaccinations for their young ones, parents usually need all the help they can get. But vaccinations aren't just kid stuff. Medical science is creating an increasing number of immunizations targeted at adults, to help them avoid life-threatening diseases in middle-age and opportunistic infections when they're older. "Immunization is a life-long issue that we need to pay a lot of attention to," said Dr. Georges C. Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. Some adult vaccinations are very well-known, like the annual shot that aims to prevent the spread of influenza. "You need an influenza shot every year," Benjamin said. "Part of that is because the virus changes every year, ... Read more

Childhood Vaccination Rates Remain High in U.S.

Posted 16 Sep 2010 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, Sept. 16 – U.S. childhood immunization rates remain high, with coverage for most routine vaccines at or over 90 percent, a new federal report shows. Among children aged 19 to 35 months, less than 1 percent had not received any vaccinations, according to the 2009 National Immunization Survey of more than 17,000 households with children born between January 2006 and July 2008. Coverage for vaccination against poliovirus, hepatitis B, chickenpox, and measles, mumps and rubella remained relatively stable and near or above the national Healthy People 2010 target of 90 percent or higher, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study. Rates of vaccination for hepatitis A and the birth dose of hepatitis B increased by more than 6 percent and 5 percent, respectively, from the previous year. Forty-four percent of the children had received rotavirus vaccine ... Read more

Health Tip: Vaccinations for Adults

Posted 5 Dec 2008 by Drugs.com

-- Vaccinations aren't just for kids. There are periodic vaccines that adults should get to stay healthy, too. The Cleveland Clinic lists these vaccines recommended for people aged 18 and older: Get a tetanus booster shot every 10 years. A pneumonia vaccine is suggested at age 65. People with a chronic illness should get it before age 65. An annual flu shot is recommended for anyone 65 or older, health-care workers, people with chronic illness, pregnant women, and people who care for very young children. A hepatitis B shot is suggested for health-care workers, homosexual men, people with multiple sex partners, I.V. drug users, people on hemodialysis, and anyone with a weakened immune system. A measles-mumps-rubella vaccine is suggested for women of child-bearing age, college students, health-care workers, and people who travel internationally. All of those people – plus teachers and ... Read more

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