Vaccination

Precautions

Vaccines are not always effective, and there is no way to predict whether a vaccine will "take" in any particular child. To be most effective, vaccination programs depend on the whole community participating. An increase in the number of vaccines given to children and the increased percentage of children receiving vaccines has resulted in a dramatic decrease in the number of vaccine-preventable diseases. In the United States, most young parents as of 2004 had never seen many of diseases that vaccines prevent. Even people who do not develop immunity through vaccination are safer because their friends, neighbors, children, and coworkers are immunized.

Factors influencing recommendations for childhood vaccination include age-specific risks of disease and complications, the ability of a given age group to respond to the vaccine, and the potential interference with the immune response to transferred maternal antibody. There are vaccines for the youngest age group at risk for developing the disease and known to develop a satisfactory antibody response to the vaccination.

Like most medical procedures, vaccination has risks as well as great benefits. When children receive a vaccine, parents should be told about both. Questions or concerns should be discussed with a doctor or other healthcare provider. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, located in Atlanta, Georgia, is also a good resource for information.

Vaccines may cause problems for children with certain allergies. Children who are allergic to the antibiotics neomycin or polymyxin B should not take rubella vaccine, measles vaccine, mumps vaccine, or the combined measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. Children who have had a severe allergic reaction to baker's yeast should not take the hepatitis B vaccine. Patients who are allergic to antibiotics such as gentamicin sulfate, streptomycin sulfate, or other amino glycosides should check with their doctors before the taking influenza vaccine, as some influenza vaccines contain small amounts of these drugs. Also, some vaccines, including those for influenza, measles, and mumps, are grown in the laboratory in fluids of chick embryos, and should not be given to children who are allergic to eggs. In general, parents of children who have had an unusual reaction to a vaccine in the past should report the reaction to the doctor before taking the same vaccine again. Doctors need to know about allergies to foods, medicines, preservatives, or other substances.

Children with other medical conditions should be given vaccines with caution. Influenza vaccine may reactivate Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) in patients who have had it before. This vaccine also may worsen illnesses that involve the lungs, such as bronchitis or pneumonia. Vaccines that cause fever as a side effect may trigger seizures in people who have a history of seizures caused by fever.

Certain vaccines are not recommended during pregnancy. However, women who are at risk of getting specific disease such as polio may receive the vaccine to prevent medical problems in their babies. Vaccinating a pregnant woman with tetanus toxoid can prevent tetanus in the baby at birth.

Women should avoid becoming pregnant for three months after taking rubella vaccine, measles vaccine, mumps vaccine, or the combined measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) as these vaccines may cause problems in the unborn baby.

Women who are breastfeeding should check with their doctors before taking any vaccine.