Oh yeah, I was discussing new human entries into this world and the inevitable vaccination talk. Recently the Centers for Disease Control released the new recommendations for childhood vaccinations. Even before the first diaper is changed your child may have been vaccinated against the Hepatitis B virus infection. These vaccines have saved many children's lives and will continue to do so if we as a people are ever vigilant to give our young ones those vaccines.
A few changes have occurred between last year's recommendations and this years. The Rotavirus vaccine has been removed from the market because of a life threatening complication that occurred in a few children. Not to worry if your child has already gotten this particular vaccine. They will be fine. This complication called intussusception (the intestine folds up on itself causing blockage) only occurred quite soon after the child received the vaccine.
Another change of note is that polio vaccination will no longer utilize the oral live inactivated viral vaccine (Sabin vaccine; An inactivated viral vaccine= no longer able to cause disease but is still able to infect cells and reproduce.). Instead children will be given the killed virus vaccine or polio shot again (Salk vaccine; killed viral vaccine= the virus has been treated in such a way that it can no longer infect and reproduce in human cells.). This is because a small number of child were getting polio from the Sabin vaccine (1-2 per year). The Salk vaccine never results in a person getting polio and as a result is a safer alternative to the Sabin vaccine for the United States.
The last major change is in the type of vaccine used to protect children from whooping cough (pertussis). Now they recommend using only the acellular vaccine for pertussis. The acellular vaccine only contains proteins from the bacterium that causes pertussis (Bordetella pertussis). The cellular vaccine contained killed Bordetella pertussis cells in it and was more likely to cause complications than the acellular vaccine.
When my children were young I wanted to know what vaccines they were getting and when they needed those vaccines. Since I knew where to look I could find that information. I realize that not everyone is a microbiologist
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