It’s a good time to make sure you and your family are up to date on recommended vaccinations.
Michigan is experiencing its first measles outbreak since 2019, with eight measles cases confirmed across five counties this year.
Whooping cough has sickened thousands – 2,081 residents in 2024, up from 110 cases in 2023, and more than a dozen mumps cases have been investigated this spring.
RELATED: Measles trending toward worst year in decades, warns Michigan’s top doc
As of late April, Measles cases in the U.S. are trending toward a more than 30-year high.
Rates for routine childhood immunizations dipped in 2020 and 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic closures, mitigation strategies, and fears of viral spread.
Vaccinations have trended back up in recent years, but remain lower than what’s ideal for herd immunity. Thus, health department officials and health care providers have been active promoting vaccination.
“It’s heartbreaking that parents could lose their children, could agonize over their children’s health for diseases that are preventable,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Michigan’s chief medical executive.
Below is the childhood vaccination schedule as recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and approved by national groups of pediatricians, physician associates, family physicians, nurse practitioners, midwives, and OBGYNs:
- Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV): One dose recommended within first 19 months. Timeline varies depending on birth season and mother’s vaccination status during pregnancy.
- Hepatitis B (HepB): One dose at birth, followed by a second dose within the first two months and a third dose between 6 months and 18 months.
- Rotavirus (RV): First dose at 2 months and second dose at 4 months. A third dose of the RotaTeq vaccine is recommended at 6 months while the Rotarix vaccine concludes after the second dose.
- Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (DTaP): One dose each at 2 months, 4 months and 6 months. A fourth dose between 15 months and 18 months, and a fifth dose age 4 to 6 years. An additional booster, called TDaP, is recommended at 11 or 12 years old, and every 10 years moving forward.
- Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib): A first dose at 2 months and a second dose at 4 months. One type of Hib vaccine requires a boosters at 6 months, while the other doesn’t. In both cases, a final dose is recommended between 12 and 15 months.
- Pneumococcal conjugate (PCV): A dose at 2 months, 4 months and 6 months, followed by a fourth dose between 12 months and 15 months.
- Inactivated poliovirus (IPV): A first dose at 2 months and a second dose at 4 months. A third dose is recommended sometime between 6 months and 18 months, followed by a fourth dose at 4 to 6 years.
- COVID-19: One or two doses are recommended anytime after 6 months.
- Influenza: One or two doses annually from 6 months to 8 years, separated by at least four weeks. By 9 years, one dose is recommended annually.
- Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR): One dose between 12 and 15 months, followed by a second dose between 4 and 6 years. No booster is needed after two doses. Older children and adults who weren’t vaccinated via the recommended schedule can get two doses at least 28 days apart.
- Varicella (VAR): A first dose between 12 and 15 months, and a second dose between 4 and 6 years.
- Hepatitis A (HepA): Two doses between 12 and 23 months, spaced 6 months apart.
- Human papillomavirus (HPV): Two or three-dose series depending on age at first dose. Recommended at age 11-12 years, but can start as early as 9 years.
- Meningococcal: A first dose at 11 years, and a second dose at 16 years.
Related: Michigan emergency room sees the scary side of vaccine hesitancy
In cases of travel to countries with higher levels of disease, some vaccines are recommended earlier than listed above.
For more information, check out the CDC’s immunization schedule and contact your local health department and/or primary care physician. Vaccines are available at health care offices, local health departments, and pharmacies.
发表回复