Immunization Schedule In Newborns



Immunization Schedule In Newborns

Introduction

Immunizations of newborns on proper time have been the most effective way to control the extensive transmission of infectious diseases. Immunizations have the potential to protect children from life-threatening diseases, save the community from widespread epidemics, and improve overall global public health. With the development of vaccines, preventing the spread of infectious diseases through the use of immunizations has been a remarkable success.

Immunization Schedule In Newborns

Vaccines are designed to protect individuals from disease by eliciting an immune response in the body. Vaccines cause the human body to perceive that it is being invaded by a foreign pathogen, or disease-caus-ing organism. The body then produces antibodies. If the pathogen was to invade the body again, the antibodies would recognize and destroy it (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2007).

Vaccines must be administered in a timely manner in order to be most effective at producing an immune response in the body. According to the updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Recommended Immunization Schedule for 2007, the standard immunization series administered between 0 and 18 months include four doses of diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DPaT) vaccine, three doses of Rotavirus (Rota) vaccine, three doses of polio vaccine, three doses of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine, three doses of Pneumococcal vaccine (PCV), and three doses of hepatitis B (HepB) vaccine (Abraham, et al., 2002).

The first dose of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and the varicella vaccine is recommended at the age of 1, while the second dose of these vaccines is recommended between 2 to 4 years of age. The immunization series also recommends two doses of the hepatitis A (HepA) vaccine for children older than the age of 1 and a yearly influenza vaccine. Following this immunization schedule in a timely ...