NEW REPORT BACKS THE SAFETY OF CHILDHOOD VACCINES

IF PARENTS FOLLOW THE GOVERNMENT -recommended immunization schedule ,their children could receive up to 24 injections by age 2.It's intense ,but the goal is to protect children at as young age as possible .

Now ,a new paper underscores the safety of this schedule .It was prepared by the Institute of Medicine and reviewed by an independent committee of experts .After compiling all the evidence ,the experts found nothing to support links between the current childhood vaccine schedule and autoimmune diseases ,asthma ,seizures ,learning or developmental disorders ,or attention deficit or disruptive behavior disorders.

In most cases ,children must get the required shots before entering school or child care .Most parents are on board .The report notes that 90 percent of children are fully or mostly vaccinated by the time they reach kindergarten.

However ,many states ,including Michigan ,allow parents to skip or delay vaccines for religious or personal beliefs.A study published in JAMA Pediatrics found that almost half of children studied spent at least some time without all the recommended shots before turning age 2 .
 It's these results that have led to new outbreaks of illness ,such as measles and whooping cough ,the IOM report notes .

Check the chart given below for the recommended immunization schedule for children upto age 18.

Getting the facts about vaccines can help you make decisions for your family .Find information at vaccines.gov.

IMMUNIZATION     AGE                         HOW OFTEN 

Hepatitis B                  Birth                               1st dose 

                                    1-2 months                      2nd dose 

                                    6-18 months                     3rd dose 

Rotavirus                    2-6 months                  Complete series

HiB-haemophilus       2-15 months                Complete series 


Pneumococcal            2 months                      1st dose 


 conjugate                   4 months                       2nd dose 

(pneumonia)               
                                   6 months                        3rd dose 

                                   12-15 months                4 th dose 

DTaP                          2 ,4 ,6 months              1st,2nd ,3rd dose 

                                   15-18 months               4th dose 

                                     4-6 years                     5th dose 



Polio                          2  months                       1st dose 

                                   4 months                         2nd dose 

                                   6-18 months                   3rd dose


                                    4-6 years                        4th dose 


Flu                               6 months -18 years        2 doses 1st year 


                                                                            then every year 

                                   9-21 years                       Every year 

Hepatitis A                  12 months                        1st dose 


                                    18-24 months                  2nd dose 

MMR(measles,             12 -15 months                1st dose 

mumps and rubellaa)        4-6 years                     2nd dose 

Varicella                         12- 15 months                1st dose 

(chickenpox)                  4-12 years                      2nd dose 


HPV(human                   Females ,9-26 years       3 doses       

papillomavirus)              Males,     9-26 years       Ask your doctor


Tdap                               11-12 years                   1 dose 


 Meningococcal              11-12 years                   1 dose 


                                         16-18 years                 1 booster 

Reference material :    Living    Healthy /Fall 2013/child health