Vaccination Guidelines for Children and Adolescents

Priority is given to completing the full course of vaccinations under the National Immunization Program (Category 1), and based on the child's individual health status, family needs and local disease prevalence, non-immunization program (Category 2) vaccines are selected as needed. Before vaccination, proactively inform the doctor of the child's recent health status. If absolute contraindications are eliminated, the child can be vaccinated according to the procedure.

Last week, I was on duty at a community vaccination clinic. I met a mother who was carrying a kindergarten admission notice and a wrinkled vaccine list. She stood at the information desk and asked three questions: "Is it better to get free vaccines instead of paid ones?" My baby has allergies, so can he not be given anything? If I missed a shot of hepatitis B before, do I need to take it all over again? ” In fact, these three issues are what 90% of parents who come for consultation are most concerned about.

Let’s start with a type of vaccine that everyone cannot avoid, which is the free vaccine that requires one to go to kindergarten or primary school. Don’t listen to people say that “free products are not good”. These are the most cost-effective options selected by the state after decades of research. They cover infectious diseases with high disability and fatality rates, such as polio, hepatitis B, meningococcal meningitis, measles, etc. Two years ago, I met a parent who believed in the "vaccines are harmful" theory on the Internet and refused to vaccinate his child against measles. As a result, measles became prevalent in the class. His child had a fever of 40 degrees and developed pneumonia. He spent more than 100,000 yuan in the ICU for 12 days, which is a pity to say the least.

As for the second-category vaccine that everyone is struggling with, there is actually no absolute answer to "must vaccinate" or "no need to vaccinate". There are currently two mainstream reference directions in the industry: one is the public health level recommendation of the disease control system, which gives priority to covering high-incidence and serious diseases, such as influenza. , hand, foot and mouth, chicken pox, pneumococcus, etc., especially for children in kindergarten and primary school, cross-infection is too common in collective living. My nephew did not get the flu vaccine last year, and half of the class had a fever. He had a fever for 4 days and did not even make it to the final exam. This year, he was taken away early for vaccination. Oh, by the way, if the chickenpox vaccine is not taken and someone in the class gets chickenpox, a re-vaccination within 3 days will have a protection rate of more than 70%. Even if the disease eventually occurs, the symptoms will be much milder, there will be no rash all over the face, and scars will not be easy to leave. The other is individualized pediatric clinical advice. For example, if your child has underlying diseases such as asthma or congenital heart disease, or has allergies and frequent respiratory infections, doctors will generally give priority to recommending vaccines such as pneumococcal and Haemophilus influenzae to reduce the risk of severe illness.

There are also a lot of questions about the HPV vaccine in the past two years, and many parents are confused about whether to vaccinate boys. At present, domestic vaccination guidelines only recommend vaccination for women aged 9-45, but WHO has long included boys aged 9-14 among the recommended vaccination groups. On the one hand, it can prevent male genital warts, anal cancer and other related diseases, and on the other hand, it can also reduce the risk of HPV infection in subsequent partners. If the family's financial conditions permit, boys can actually be vaccinated. This depends on personal choice.

Many parents always think that their child cannot be vaccinated if they have a runny nose or cough. In fact, this is also a common misunderstanding. There are actually very few absolute medical contraindications: for example, if you are severely allergic to vaccine ingredients, have severe immune deficiency and cannot take live vaccines, have a fever or have to postpone the onset of an acute illness, the rest of the common cold, mild runny nose, and small eczema at the beginning will not actually affect it. However, it should also be said here that in order to avoid coincidental reactions - that is, if you encounter an illness that is already going to occur just after vaccination, and it is easy to blame the vaccine - it is recommended to wait until symptoms subside before getting vaccinated. This is a practical trade-off, not an absolute medical requirement. If you are in a hurry to get a vaccination certificate for admission to the park, you can re-evaluate it with your doctor.

By the way, parents who have missed vaccines before should not panic. Except for rabies vaccines, which have strict time requirements, if you miss other common vaccines, you only need to make up the rest according to the procedure. There is no need to start from the beginning. For example, if you missed the third shot of hepatitis B before, you can go directly to the third shot. You don’t have to take three more shots. Don’t suffer in vain.

Don’t be too nervous after the vaccination. It’s an old rumor that you can’t take a shower or eat eggs for three days. As long as there is no redness, swelling or oozing from the needle site within 24 hours, it is perfectly fine to touch the water. If you have a low fever or a little redness and swelling at the needle site, it is a normal immune response. Just drink more water and rest. Taking antipyretics when the temperature exceeds 38.5℃ will not affect the effect of the vaccine. If you have a fever for more than 2 days or a rash or breathing problem, go to the hospital quickly.

In fact, there is no need to be overly anxious about getting vaccinated, and don’t follow the trend. When I arrange the vaccination plan for my baby, I first record the time for the first-class vaccines in my mobile phone calendar. When I make the appointment, I ask the doctor if the required second-class vaccines can be given together. If I can give them together, I will save a trip and the baby will suffer less pain. Every baby's situation is different. Ask regular doctors and don't believe the random rumors on the Internet. This is the most practical protection for your baby.