Available Vaccines

In the United States, children routinely get 13 vaccines that protect them against 16 vaccine-preventable diseases including diphtheria, chicken pox, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, Hib, HPV, influenza, measles, meningococcal disease,  mumps, pertussis, pneumococcal disease, polio,  rotavirus, rubella, and tetanus.

Routine Vaccines

These 13 routine childhood vaccines include:

1. DTaP vaccines (Daptacel or Infanrix) – 5 doses
2. chicken pox vaccine (Varivax) – 2 doses
3. hepatitis A vaccines (Havrix or Vaqta) – 2 doses
4. hepatitis B vaccine (Engerix-B or Recombivax HB) – 3 doses
5. Hib vaccine (ActHIB, PedvaxHIB, Hiberix) – 3 to 4 doses
6. HPV vaccines (Cervarix or Gardasil) – 3 doses
7. Influenza – a yearly flu shot
8. MMR II – 2 doses
9. Meningococcal vaccines (Menactra or Menveo) – 2 doses
10. Pneumococcal vaccines (Prevnar 13 and Pneumovax 23) – 4 doses/1 dose
11. Polio vaccine – 4 doses
12. Rotavirus vaccines (Rotarix or RotaTeq) – 2 to 3 doses
13. Tdap booster (Adacel, Boostrix) – 1 dose

Another vaccine or meningococcal B disease (Bexsero or  Trumenba), which is given as 2 or 3 doses to older teens, is not exactly routine yet. It has a “permissive” recommendation in that parents are told they can get it if they want their kids to avoid menB infections, but it is not required yet.

MenHibrix is yet another vaccine, a combination between Hib Meningococcal Groups C and Y, but it is only given to high risk kids.

Combination Vaccines

The availability of combination vaccines also means that your child doesn’t necessarily need to get as many shots as you see doses. For example, Pediarix combines the three vaccines, DTaP-IPV-HepB, into a single shot. Given three times, when your infant is two, four, and six months, that means that instead of nine shots, your child only gets three.

Other combination vaccines include:

• Pentacel – DTaP-IPV-Hib
• Kinrix – DTaP-IPV
• Quadracel – DTaP-IPV
• ProQuad – MMR-Varivax

Using combination vaccines, your fully vaccinated and protected child might only get 18 shots by the time he starts kindergarten, not counting yearly flu shots.

Other Vaccines

In addition to the 13 routine vaccines that children get, other vaccines that might be given in special situations include the:

• Adenovirus vaccine – only given to enlisted soldiers during basic training
• Anthrax vaccine – high risk people only
• BCG vaccine vaccine – high risk people only
• Cholera vaccine – recently approved in the United States as a travel vaccine
• Hepatitis E – not available in the United States
• Japanese encephalitis vaccine – a travel vaccine
• Meningococcal vaccine (MenC)
• Plague vaccine – no longer available
• Rabies vaccine – high risk people only
• Shingles vaccine – seniors only
• Smallpox vaccine – high risk people only
• Tick-borne encephalitis – not available in the United States
• Typhoid fever vaccine – a travel vaccine
• Typhus vaccine – no longer available
• Yellow fever vaccine – a travel vaccine

That there are so many vaccines that are not routinely given to kids should dispel the myth that pediatricians are simply vaccine pushers. After all, why don’t they push these vaccines then?

For More Information On Vaccines:

• ACIP Passes “Permissive” Recommendation for MenB Vaccine for Young Adults
• Ask the Experts about Combination Vaccines–DTaP-Hib-IPV-HepB 
• Immunization Schedule with Combination Vaccines
• CDC – BCG Vaccine
• FDA – Vaccines Licensed for Use in the United States
• FDA – List of Vaccines Used in United States
• WHO – Vaccines List
• FDA Approves Vaxchora, PaxVax’s Single-Dose Oral Cholera Vaccine
• Typhus, War, and Vaccines

Updated April 26, 2017