CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

“The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) annually publishes an immunization schedule for persons aged 0 through 18 years that summarizes recommendations for currently licensed vaccines for children aged 18 years and younger and includes recommendations in effect as of December 15, 2009. Changes to the previous schedule (1) include the following: (Emphasis added)

• The statement concerning use of combination vaccines in the introductory paragraph has been changed to reflect the revised ACIP recommendation on this issue (2).
• The last dose in the inactivated poliovirus vaccine series is now recommended to be administered on or after the fourth birthday and at least 6 months after the previous dose. In addition, if 4 doses are administered before age 4 years, an additional (fifth) dose should be administered at age 4 through 6 years (3).
• The hepatitis A footnote has been revised to allow vaccination of children older than 23 months for whom immunity against hepatitis A is desired.
• Revaccination with meningococcal conjugate vaccine is now recommended for children who remain at increased risk for meningococcal disease after 3 years (if the first dose was administered at age 2 through 6 years), or after 5 years (if the first dose was administered at age 7 years or older) (4).
• Footnotes for human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine have been modified to include 1) the availability of and recommendations for bivalent HPV vaccine, and 2) a permissive recommendation for administration of quadrivalent HPV vaccine to males aged 9 through 18 years to reduce the likelihood of acquiring genital warts (5).

“The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act requires that health-care providers provide parents or patients with copies of Vaccine Information Statements before administering each dose of the vaccines listed in the schedules. Additional information is available from state health departments and from CDC at http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/default.htm.”

Citation: January 8, 2010 / 58(51&52);1-4