Starting August, 2011, the Ontario government will expand the infant and childhood vaccination program to include one new vaccine (the oral rotavirus vaccine) and a chickenpox booster vaccine. These additions will be fully covered by the Ministry of Health (i.e. no cost to parents). Below is a brief explanation for why these additions have been made.
1. Rotavirus Vaccine
Rotavirus infections cause severe diarrhea, vomiting and dehydration in infants and children. In Canada, seven per cent of children who acquire rotavirus disease require hospitalization. The vaccine, given to infants at 2 and 4 months of age, dramatically reduces the chance of acquiring this disease (or more specifically, the severe forms of this disease). Rotavirus vaccine has been used in the United States for the past 5 years during which hospitalizations due to rotavirus-associated illness dropped dramatically (by as much as 96%). It has been extensively tested and demonstrated to be safe and effective. As of August 2011, rotavirus vaccine will be offered (and fully subsidized) to all Ontario infants less than 6 months of age as part of the routine childhood immunization program.
2. Varicella (Chickenpox) Vaccine
An interesting study was conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and published this week in the peer-reviewed journal Pediatrics. The study reviewed mortality data in the United States over the first 17 years since the chickenpox vaccine was introduced. The results showed that deaths associated with chickenpox infections declined by over 97% during that period of time. This suggests that 90 lives are saved per year in the United States as a result of this vaccine. Recent studies have also demonstrated that only 85% of people immunized with the varicella vaccine actually achieve long-term immunity. With a booster this number is expected to increase significantly. The vaccine has been extensively tested and demonstrated to be safe and effective. As of August 2011, a varicella vaccine booster will be offered (and fully subsidized) to children in Ontario as part of the routine childhood immunization program.
Ontario Public Health’s updated childhood immunization schedule now look like this:
2 Months of Age: DPTPH, PC13, Rota
4 Months of Age: DPTPH, PC13, Rota
6 Months of Age: DPTPH
12 Months of Age: MMR, MC, PC13
15 Months of Age: Var
18 Months of Age: DPTPH
4 Years of Age: MMRV, DPTP
Legend:
DPTPH = Vaccine against Diptheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Polio, H-flu type B Vaccine
PC13 = Vaccine against Pneumococcus – 13 strains
Rota = Vaccine against Rotavirus
MMR = Vaccine against Measles, Mumps, and Rubella
MC = Vaccine against Meningococcus
Var = Vaccine against Chickenpox (Varicella)
MMRV = Vaccine against Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Varicella
DPTP = Vaccine against Diptheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Polio
, and this latest one (im not a beievelr in the thimerosal-autism connection and i know this is not what your post is about) was pretty interesting. and i didn’t see this in my rss reader until today, grrrr.my parents have vaccinated me almost according to what’s on the cdc schedule, after having decided the pros and cons of each vaccine, and i dont have fond memories of going to the dr to get vaccinated, but it’s not like i have a choice at 3 years old to figure out what’s best for me, that’s what my parents are supposed to be doing :)and, being much older now i get annual flu shots and don’t have fond memories of going to the dr every two weeks for multiple xolair injections, but that was my decision after researching and weighing the pros and cons – and my dr and my parents (one being a dr as well) accepted that. Simply put, lessening the chances of getting the flu and in particular, spending a bit of money on xolair and having to deal with my dislike of needles was nothing compared to sitting out on games of football or ultimate frisbee with friends or ER visits and hospital bills. And many vaccines work like that. I don’t really like the number of vaccines children nowadays are recommended to get, but there’s always a way to opt-out (although, it may be a bit of a hassle).So, when it comes to the hpv vaccine, the idea is that hpv is one of the most common stds and if so many adverse effects stemming from contracting hpv can be avoided with something this simple, why not do it? 9 is a young age, but I can say with utmost confidence that many teens engage in sexual relations before they reach the age of consent or 18 (if the age of consent is lower) – and i can’t be the only one who had classmates with babies (2 months old, 2 years old..) in high school.Personally I believe that the HPV vaccine should have been recommended for older girls, but the “good” part about making this mandatory (realize that the link you included was the recommended schedule) is that the $360 cost of 3 shots will be significantly lessened because everyone understands one cannot force a family under the poverty line to cough up $360 per daughter to get this vaccine – insurance coverage out of the question for a family that poor. The groups least able to afford this are the ones that stand to benefit from it being mandatory most.Many parents are opting out and fighting to get this non-mandatory, while others are just stuck in the middle not knowing what’s going on and the rest are okay with it…and then there are parents who can’t afford it on top of that.Meanwhile, there’s average middle class me, not yet 18 (sophomore in college, before you start asking about high school and sex) and already started on Gardasil with insurance coverage (well, to be honest I was prepared to pay full cost regardless of insurance coverage because unlike what shari’s daughter is saying, dr’s nationwide are refusing to stock gardasil because insurance payouts are ridiculously small), and already sexually active, and have been for a couple of years.I understand that this vaccine’s primary concern is that it seems to make sex seem okay to people my age and younger..no, that’s got to be the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. This vaccine just lets me know that if the condom ever breaks with a partner who has hpv, i’ll lessen the chances of contracting hpv. If _something_ happens that should raise my chances of contracting hpv, then this vaccine might do something to lower that. and if i ever do, it’ll again lower my risk for developing hpv-related cervical cancer. Nothing more. I’ll still be using my nuvaring birth control, I’ll still have that packet of Plan B in my desk drawer, I’ll still be forcing all my partners, female (toys, obviously) or male to use condoms, I’ll still get pap smears and get tested for stds, and I’ll still be careful about who I choose to be with. This vaccine is just one more way for me to have safer sex, and that’s it. It’s a fact of life that people have sex (and, according to a recent study, overwhelming odds are that people are having premarital sex as well).That’s just my personal reasoning, of course, but the points I raise are still valid. 🙂 My parents, as much as they oppose this vaccine based on their various beliefs, won’t disagree or stop me.