Table of contents:
- What is a vaccination calendar?
- What should a child be vaccinated and when?
- In what cases are test results required for admission to vaccination?
- Why do children need to be vaccinated so early? Is it possible to postpone vaccination?
- In what cases should vaccination not be carried out?
- How does a reaction to a vaccine differ from complications?
- Is it possible to get sick from a vaccine against the disease against which it is given?
- Why should I vaccinate my child if everyone around me is vaccinated?
- “I heard a story: a healthy child was vaccinated, and after that he became seriously ill and became disabled”
- Why get vaccinated against chickenpox? After all, this is a mild childhood illness.
- The meningococcal vaccine is very expensive. Is it really necessary?
- Why is it better to choose a vaccine with a component that protects against Haemophilus influenzae infection?
- Why is it necessary to vaccinate a child against pneumococcus?
- We have never heard of the rotavirus vaccine. Why is it needed?
- How many vaccines can be given at one time?
- What should be the intervals between vaccinations?
ADSM vaccination during pregnancy
In Russia, any vaccinations during pregnancy are prohibited. If young parents are planning to have a child and the vaccination period is approaching, then it is necessary to get vaccinated and after a month stop using protection. This will give complete confidence that the vaccination will not affect the fetus.
If a woman has undergone a planned revaccination and after that she finds out that she was pregnant during it, then there is no need to panic, you need to go to an appointment with a gynecologist, talk about everything and observe the development of the fetus. If any changes occur, terminate the pregnancy. But as many years of practice have shown, the ADSM vaccine has no effect on the fetus.
What is a vaccination calendar?
The national vaccination calendar is a list of all vaccinations that the state provides to people free of charge to the entire population. As a rule, this calendar includes vaccines from domestic manufacturers, although there are exceptions. It is important that the national calendar is not a “list of all necessary vaccinations.” This list itself is broader, and it may include completely different vaccines. If parents have the opportunity to get vaccinated for a fee, they can supplement the calendar with those vaccines that are not included in it and replace the free vaccine options with paid ones.
All about the vaccination calendar
What should a child be vaccinated and when?
We have compiled for you our own extended list of infections against which your baby must be vaccinated.
In some places we also indicate specific vaccines, but at the time of writing this article there are significant difficulties with their supply in St. Petersburg. Most vaccines for a specific disease are interchangeable. When choosing a vaccine, remember that combination vaccines (those that include vaccines against several infections at once) are better than single vaccines. So, vaccinate your baby against the following diseases:
- tuberculosis - in the maternity hospital;
- hepatitis B - first vaccination in the maternity hospital, then at 1 and 6 months;
- rotavirus - from 6 weeks;
- whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus, polio, hemophilus influenzae. There is a Pentaxim vaccine that protects against all these diseases at once, as well as Infanrix Hexa, which in addition to them also contains a vaccine against hepatitis B. The timing of administration varies depending on the vaccines available to you, but in any case, vaccination against these diseases must be completed by 6 months;
- pneumococcus - (Prevenar, from 2 months);
- influenza - (annually in the fall, from 6 months);
- meningitis - (Menactra, from 9 months);
- measles, rubella, mumps - (Priorix or analogues, from 12 months);
- hepatitis A - from 12 months;
- chickenpox - from 12 months.
Consult with your pediatrician to schedule vaccines and when to give them.
Is it possible to do without ADSM vaccination?
In Russia, vaccination and revaccination are carried out according to vaccination schedules and are recommended by the Ministry of Health. The diseases of diphtheria and tetanus are very dangerous for humans, especially for children. According to statistics, before the introduction of vaccination against diphtheria, up to 56% of those sick with this disease died, and up to 80% died from tetanus. After the introduction of mandatory vaccination, the results were so amazing that doctors in some countries, such as the United States, believed that the disease had been completely eliminated. Vaccinations against tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough began to be abandoned everywhere.
But the result was not long in coming; within 2 years, outbreaks of these diseases appeared with fatal outcomes, which forced doctors to reconsider their attitude to vaccination. Of course, despite all the care taken in the preparation of drugs, there are cases of negative effects of drugs on humans. But in percentage terms, the results of the negative impact from the use of the vaccine and the consequences of the disease itself are not comparable. Another factor: vaccination at the age of 14 under the shoulder blade is carried out with the AKDM vaccine, which contains diphtheria and tetanus toxoid. In the vast majority of cases, it is easily tolerated by the body.
Why do children need to be vaccinated so early? Is it possible to postpone vaccination?
Many people do this, but we don’t recommend it.
- Firstly, most vaccinated infections are deadly for young children. Deaths from whooping cough, pneumococcal pneumonia, and diseases caused by Haemophilus influenzae are most often recorded precisely at the age of 2-3 years. At 9-24 months there is a peak incidence of meningococcal meningitis, especially its invasive (most dangerous) form.
- Secondly, parental concerns about “immature immunity” are completely unfounded. The child’s immune system is constantly experiencing some antigenic load, and vaccination does not interfere, but helps it mature. Vaccinations are designed specifically for children. Of course, infant immunity is imperfect, so some vaccines are repeated. But following the correct schedule guarantees reliable protection against infection.
- Thirdly, the older the child, the more pronounced the reactions to vaccinations are, precisely because of the “ripe” immunity. This in itself is not scary, but redness and pain at the injection site, high fever and other “joys” are much more common in children with delayed vaccinations, and are not typical for infants.
Many parents ask the doctor to give them a waiver, and pediatricians follow their lead. In fact, neither colic, nor an umbilical hernia, nor small residual cysts in the baby’s brain, nor even a runny nose without a rise in temperature will in any way affect the child’s condition after vaccination. Such challenges have no medical basis. Unfortunately, most cases of severe childhood infections are detected in children whose parents decided to “just wait six months or a year.”
Revaccination ADSM R-2
The entry in the ADSM R-2 vaccination card means that the vaccination was carried out for the second time, that it was planned. This vaccination is given at the age of 6 to 7 years. This is no coincidence, since at this age children begin to attend school. They bear a lot of emotional and physical stress, which weakens the immune system. It needs to be supported, since the accumulation of large numbers of children can lead to outbreaks of epidemics. A weakened immune system does not always cope with the disease.
Therefore, the vaccination schedule is designed in such a way that a second vaccination against tetanus and diphtheria is given at the age of 6 to 7 years. In ADSM R-2, the whooping cough component is no longer introduced, since at this age it does not pose an increased danger compared to diphtheria and tetanus. Further vaccinations are given at 14 years of age. We will consider below what factors contribute to this.
In what cases should vaccination not be carried out?
- Acute febrile condition, for example, with ARVI. As soon as the temperature drops, you can wait 3-4 days and get vaccinated. A runny nose and cough without fever are not a contraindication to vaccination!
- Seizures (children with epilepsy who do not show seizures on medications can be vaccinated).
- Exacerbation of chronic diseases. At the same time, atopic dermatitis, anemia, benign neutropenia of childhood and other asymptomatic or easily removable conditions are not contraindications.
- Severe reaction to a previous administration of the same vaccine. At the same time, a vaccine against a specific infection can and should be replaced with an analogue.
- There is one more contraindication for live vaccines: immunodeficiency - primary (congenital), HIV infection or resulting from treatment with hormones or chemotherapy. All these conditions cannot be “accidentally overlooked.”
- It is important that vaccination should not be delayed due to “incorrect” test results. Moreover, the requirement to take tests before vaccination is unlawful, and you can refuse to do so.
How does a reaction to a vaccine differ from complications?
A reaction to a vaccine is a variant of the norm. After all, vaccination is an accelerated, stimulated development of immunity. The reaction may be local (swelling, pain, redness at the injection site) or general (fever, poor sleep and appetite, headache, rash).
The reaction to the vaccine is not dangerous and goes away within 1-2 days. If the fever lasts longer or occurs later, the vaccine is not the cause.
Complications from vaccination, in contrast to post-vaccination reactions, occur extremely rarely and are severe. Thus, 1 out of 10,000,000 children vaccinated against measles develops post-vaccination measles encephalitis, and pneumococcal vaccines have not caused a single complication in the entire history of observation. Information on the frequency of complications can be easily found in open sources. WHO collects and analyzes all cases of complications and, based on this, adjusts its recommendations on vaccinations. Complications can be caused by improper administration or storage of the vaccine, or violation of vaccination rules (for example, if a child with an infectious disease was vaccinated).
In addition, (also very rarely) an allergic reaction to vaccine components occurs. This is why parents are often asked to wait in the hallway for half an hour after vaccination. An allergy to the vaccine, if any, manifests itself immediately, and doctors are prepared for such situations.
How does the ADSM vaccine work?
It refers to adsorbed ones, in which immunobiological particles are superimposed on the sorbent. This guarantees a gradual release of the administered drug into the blood, which allows the body to form immunity. If the entire dose immediately enters the blood, it will simply be destroyed by the immune system. That is, the vaccine will not fulfill its mission.
This is the reason for its intramuscular administration, since it lingers in it, gradually entering the blood. If the drug is injected under the skin, it will be transported very slowly into the blood. Therefore, a lump forms at the injection site. The vaccination will have to be redone, since its effectiveness in this case will be in doubt.
It is strictly forbidden to vaccinate in the buttocks, since here the muscles are located deep and there is a large layer of subcutaneous fat. Young children are vaccinated in the thigh, since the muscle tissue here runs next to the skin and is quite developed. For older schoolchildren, the vaccine is given in the upper part of the arm - the forearm, as well as under the shoulder blade.
Why get vaccinated against chickenpox? It's a mild childhood illness.
Indeed, most often chickenpox passes quickly and without traces in a child, although a high fever and an itchy rash are also not a gift. But sometimes chickenpox can cause serious complications: encephalitis, pneumonia, epiglottitis.
The older the child, the more severe chickenpox tends to be. In addition, chickenpox is an extremely contagious disease. That’s why it’s called that, because the virus is literally carried by the wind over a distance of up to twenty meters.
And if we decide that our child can get over the disease, then we are also responsible for that pregnant woman who sits opposite us on the transport and whose plans do not include the disease.
Therefore, it is better not to get chickenpox - but to get vaccinated against it in advance!
The meningococcal vaccine is very expensive. Is it really necessary?
Vaccination against meningococcus is of great importance for both young children and adolescents. It is children under 5 years of age who most often become victims of the invasive form of the disease - meningococcemia (more than 30% of all cases). In fulminant forms, only a few hours may pass from the first symptoms to death. Meningococcemia and meningococcal meningitis have a high mortality rate - about 15%, even with timely treatment. It is not difficult to understand that meningococcal infection at the moment, although rare, is the most terrible of childhood diseases.
In the North-West region, the incidence of meningococcal infection caused by serogroup B (not included in the vaccine) has decreased in recent years at the expense of serogroup W (which is included). Therefore, if you have the opportunity, it is definitely worth vaccinating your child.
What is better ADSM or AD and AS
The ADSM vaccine is considered bivalent, since it contains two anti-infective components. A vaccine that contains one infectious component, for example AB, is considered monovalent. Most parents assume that they are better than bivalent ones, explaining this by less stress on the body. Such reasoning is caused by deep misconceptions, since for the immune system it does not matter if one or more types of antigen enter the body. But they have a quantitative component.
When creating bivalent vaccines, one important condition must be observed - the special purity of the biological components of the drug. Therefore, adolescents are vaccinated with this drug. This suggests that the bivalent vaccine is better purified than the monovalent vaccine. It is safe to say that the body’s reaction to its administration will be calmer and have no side effects.
The second important advantage of bivalent vaccines over monovalent ones is the content of preservatives and other substances in the vaccine that cannot in any way be beneficial to the body. Naturally, one injection of a bivalent vaccine will contain fewer of them than with two or three injections of monovalent drugs. One injection is always better than two or three. Therefore, the advantage of such vaccines is obvious. In most developed European countries, they are preferred. But one minus should be noted: they are all obtained through genetic engineering technologies.
We have never heard of the rotavirus vaccine. Why is it needed?
The RotaTek vaccine is used for vaccination against rotavirus. These are drops in the mouth, not an injection. Rotavirus enteritis can be a very dangerous disease for infants and children under 5 years of age. The mortality rate with it is not so low - 3%, and in children under one year old, even a moderate course threatens with rapid dehydration. RotaTek reduces the likelihood of disease (protection efficiency is 98% in the first season, then 70%) and makes the course of the disease easier, protecting against dangerous complications. Therefore, it is better to vaccinate your child, especially since complications from this vaccination occur infrequently.
Who gets ADSM vaccinations?
Adults and children, if there are no contraindications, are vaccinated according to the schedule approved by the Russian Ministry of Health. The age of 14-16 years was not chosen by chance. The fact is that the next ADSM vaccination after DTP must be done after 8-10 years. And since DTP is carried out up to a year, and the first revaccination is at 6 years old before school, the next period of revaccination is accordingly chosen at 14-16 years. After ten years, immunity decreases again, so the next one must be done at 26 years old, and so on. The ADSM vaccine is a revaccination of DTP; it contains a half dose of the components of tetanus and diphtheria, which is intended only to activate the immune system.
What should be the intervals between vaccinations?
It has been established that longer than recommended intervals between vaccine doses do not significantly reduce the antibody response. In this regard, interruption of the immunization schedule does not require the restoration of the full vaccination series or the addition of additional doses of the vaccine. However, administering doses of vaccines or toxoids at shorter than recommended intervals may reduce the antibody response and should therefore be avoided. This is especially important for primary immunization.
The minimum interval is 1 month; after the administration of some live vaccines, the next vaccination can be administered only after 2 months; the correct sequence and duration of intervals is determined by the doctor in each specific situation.
