The latest electronic version of the vaccination guide

The latest official electronic version of the vaccination guide is currently available in the country. The only authoritative channels for obtaining it are the official website of the National Health Commission, the official public account of "China Disease Control and Prevention Updates", and the official platforms of provincial centers for disease control. The updated version in 2024 covers all categories of immunization program vaccines and non-immunization program vaccines, and supplements the vaccination adjustment details for three types of special groups. There is no officially authorized third-party paid download channel.

Last month, an elderly person at home wanted to get the shingles vaccine. When I first searched for it on a certain search engine, the first few items that popped up were all old guidelines from 2020. They also said that vaccination is only recommended for those over 50 years old, so I almost lost my money. Later, I checked the official account of "China Disease Control and Prevention Updates" and clicked "Vaccination Guide" in the convenient service column to directly download the PDF version. The latest version has already made it clear that people aged 40 and above can be vaccinated. The protective efficacy data and adverse reaction incidence rates of different manufacturers are clearly listed, which is much more reliable than the half-baked popular science on the Internet.

I would like to remind everyone that don’t believe those library contents that require membership to be downloaded. I fell into this trap before when I was helping my colleagues find it. It cost me 19.9 to get it. It is still the 2021 version, but the cover has been changed to 2024. There is not even any content about age expansion of the nine-price HPV vaccine. It is purely IQ tax. There are also "self-made guidelines" issued by some private medical institutions that deliberately put their own paid vaccines at the top of the recommended priority list. In fact, the official guidelines have never stated that "non-immunization program vaccines are more effective than free vaccines." All self-funded vaccines are voluntarily chosen and vaccinated on demand, and there is no mandatory priority ordering.

In fact, many of the adjustments in the new version of the guidelines are related to ordinary families. For example, the vaccination procedure for polio vaccine, which used to be "1 dose of IPV + 3 doses of bOPV", has now been changed to a full course of 4 doses of IPV. For children, the risk of vaccine-related paralysis has been directly reduced to 0, and all vaccines are free within the immunization plan, so parents do not need to pay extra. My cousin's newborn baby went to be vaccinated last month. The community hospital has already implemented the new procedure. There is no need to issue a certificate or apply for it. You can just get the vaccination directly when you arrive.

Regarding some controversial aspects of vaccination, the guidelines also provide neutral explanations. The most typical one is the frequency of influenza vaccination. The current official recommendation is to receive one dose every year before the epidemic season (usually September to November). However, some public research conclusions show that if young adults with normal immune function receive the influenza vaccine for three consecutive years, the subsequent protective efficacy will decay much slower than those who receive the vaccine for the first time. It is not necessary to strictly take the vaccine every year. However, this conclusion has not yet been included in the official recommendations. If you are not sure, it is safest to follow the official requirements. Especially for high-risk groups such as the elderly, children, and pregnant women, the benefits of annual vaccination are still far higher than the risks.

Many friends with allergies have always struggled with whether they can get vaccinated. The new version of the guidelines has also changed the standards in this area to be more relaxed. In the past, it was always said that people allergic to milk should not be vaccinated against measles and mumps, and those allergic to eggs should not be vaccinated against influenza. Now it is clear that unless there is a severe allergic reaction such as laryngeal edema or anaphylactic shock after contact with the allergen, ordinary rashes and slight itching will not affect vaccination, and there is no need to extend the observation time. I am prone to mild rashes when eating eggs. I checked the guide before getting the flu vaccine last year and found that nothing happened after the vaccination. I had been worried about it for many years.

Oh, by the way, there are also many people who ask whether they should fast before vaccination and whether they should stop taking daily health products or chronic disease drugs. The guidelines also make it very clear that eating normally and taking commonly used medicines will not affect the effectiveness of the vaccination. On the contrary, it is easy to faint from the injection if you are hungry. Last time I met a girl who didn't eat breakfast and went to get the nine-price vaccine. Her eyes went black just after the vaccination and she lay down for half an hour before she recovered. There is absolutely no need to suffer this.

If you feel that the dozens of pages of the full guide are too arduous, you can also find a simplified version of the popular science published by the local disease control public account, which extracts frequently asked questions, which seems to save trouble. But if you have special circumstances, such as taking immunosuppressants, suffering from severe allergies, or preparing for pregnancy, it is best to read the corresponding chapters of the original guide. It is more reliable than asking strangers online. After all, the content of the official guide has been extensively clinically verified, and the error tolerance rate is much lower.