repeating vaccines – VAXOPEDIA

Knowing when to give or get a vaccine doesn’t usually cause any confusion.

You simply have to check the immunization schedule.

Take the meningococcal vaccines, for example. Most parents and pediatricians understand that kids get them before entering middle school and again before going off to college. And some high risk kids should get them even earlier, as infants.

Simple, right?

At What Age Should Kids Get a Meningococcal Vaccine?

Actually, there are some things that make it a little more complicated than it should be…

Why?

some overnight and summer camps are actually starting to require a dose of meningococcal vaccine for younger kids, even though this is not a formal recommendation of the CDC or AAP
some parents might request a dose of meningococcal vaccine for younger kids going to overnight and summer camps, even though this is not a formal recommendation of the CDC or AAP
some folks are misunderstanding recommendations that campers be up-to-date on all immunizations as a recommendation that they get an early meningococcal vaccine
getting an early dose, before age 10 years won’t count as the middle school dose, and will need to be repeated
some states have very strict laws on timing, like that kids have to get their meningococcal vaccine before starting 6th grade, but only after they turn 11 years old, which creates a problem for those kids who start 6th grade before they are 11 years old
many folks don’t understand the recommendations for the MenB vaccines

What’s the answer?

It is not to skip or delay your child’s meningococcal vaccine, of course.

Older teens and young adults are at much higher risk of meningococcal disease than younger school age children.

Instead, states should likely institute their meningococcal vaccine laws to require a dose before entering 7th grade, that way, most will have plenty of time to get it while they are in 6th grade. Or at least keep to the standard minimum age of 10 years for a dose to count towards middle school requirements.

What about a meningococcal vaccine for campers?

“In New York State, PHL Article 21, Title 6, Section 2167 also requires the notification of campers and parents about recommendations for and the availability of meningococcal vaccine for all campers attending overnight camps for a period of 7 or more consecutive nights. Meningococcal ACWY (MenACWY) vaccine is recommended at age 11 or 12 years, with a booster dose at age 16 years. Please note that the NYSDOH does not recommend that campers receive either dose of MenACWY vaccine before the recommended ages. Students who are vaccinated before the recommended ages may need to have the doses repeated in order to attend school.”

Recommended Immunizations for Campers

Unless they are in a high risk group, folks should likely stick to the standard ages of the immunization schedule to get their kids vaccinated.

And keep in mind that if your child does get an early dose, it won’t count as part of the routine series and will have to be repeated.

“Doses of quadrivalent meningococcal vaccine (either MPSV4 or MenACWY) given before 10 years of age should not be counted as part of the routine 2-dose series. If a child received a dose of either MPSV4 or MenACWY before age 10 years, they should receive a dose of MenACWY at 11 or 12 years and a booster dose at age 16 years.”

Ask the Experts Meningococcal ACWY

Talk to your pediatrician about an early dose if the extra coverage is important to you though. It will protect your child, but isn’t a general recommendation because younger kids have a lower risk for disease and vaccinating everyone likely wouldn’t impact disease rates that much.

Another situation in which getting an extra dose may be required is if you are traveling to a high risk part of the world. In this case, the extra dose is essential, even if it has to be repeated later.

More on Ages to Give Meningococcal Vaccines

There is a vaccine scandal in China.

What does that mean for you and your kids?

Not much unless they were vaccinated in China. Remember, none of the vaccines used in the United States are made in China.

And our vaccines are tested for safe, pure, and potent before they are released for distribution.

The Latest Vaccine Scandal in China

Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences Ltd. is no longer making vaccines.

Even if your child had been vaccinated in China, there is likely nothing to be concerned about at this point.

The vaccines were not contaminated.

There is a concern that they were “substandard,” or that they might not work as well as they should.

That’s not good either though.

Getting a substandard vaccine might mean that you could get a disease that you thought you were vaccinated and protected against.

Still, since the scandal seems limited to a few companies (well, really just one company) and a few vaccines (just rabies and DTaP), it is very unlikely that many people in other countries have been affected.

“WHO assessed the national regulatory authorities in 2010 and 2014, and found that they met WHO criteria as a functional regulator for vaccines with a clear commitment to continual improvement. WHO welcomes the fact that China’s NDA continues to work with WHO’s Regulatory Systems Strengthening program, as it has been doing for nearly 20 years. While the current incident is clearly regrettable, the detection of this event by an unannounced inspection shows that the regulatory authority’s system of checks and balances to protect population health is working.”

WHO Statement on Rabies Incident in China

It is also important to realize that:

affected vaccines include 650,000 doses of DTaP vaccine, which were only sent to Chongqing and the provinces, of Shandong and Hebei. And while they initially passed testing for safety and efficacy before being released for distribution, later, routine testing found low titer testing in vaccines from two companies, Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences Ltd. and Wuhan Institute of Biological Products, who’s vaccines were recalled. Batch numbers have been published, so parents should be able to figure out if they got one of these vaccines.
problems with rabies vaccines from Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences Ltd. were discovered on a routine inspection and before the vaccine had been released for distribution. Unfortunately, the problem is that they made up production and inspection records, which is why at least 15 people from the company have been arrested. This is the scandal.

While some folks are concerned of more widespread problems, it is important to keep in mind that vaccines have been working in China. Despite these recent problems, China is polio-free and has “significantly reduced vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, mumps, rubella, and hepatitis A and B among children.”

If there were a big problem with the effectiveness of their vaccines, they should be seeing more disease. And they aren’t.

And in places that are seeing more disease, like Europe, with their measles outbreaks and deaths, it is clearly unvaccinated folks that are getting sick.

“If you are unsure as to whether or not your child was vaccinated, the doctor can have their blood tested for antibodies to determine their immunity to certain diseases. However, these tests may not always be accurate, so the doctor may not be sure your child is truly protected. In some cases, doctors may prefer to revaccinate your child anyway for best protection. It is safe for your child to be revaccinated, even if your child received that vaccine in their birth country.”

CDC on Adoption and Vaccines

If you are still concerned about vaccines that your child may have gotten in China, either because you were living in China when your child was vaccinated or your child was adopted from China, remember that you can always have those vaccines repeated.

Titer testing is another option for most vaccines.

Until and if we get further guidance on this issue from the WHO, CDC, or AAP, neither seems to be necessary for what seems to be an isolated problem right now.

Update on the Vaccine Scandal in China

There have been a few updates since the initial news of the vaccine scandal in China, including that:

at least 10 officials with the State Food and Drug Administration and the State Drug Administration have been fired and 35 non-centrally-administered officials will be held accountable
an additional 247,200 DTaP vaccines from Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences Ltd. have been found to be substandard

And there are reports of some parents going to Hong Kong to get their kids vaccinated.

Vaccine Scandals in China

Tragically, these aren’t the first vaccine scandals in China.

there were reports of kids getting sick in 2016 in Shandong providence after getting vaccines that had not been stored properly
there were reports of kids getting sick in 2015 after getting expired vaccines in Henan province
in 2013, several infant deaths were blamed on hepatitis B vaccines, but they were later determined to be coincidental

And before that, in 2010, at least four children reportedly died in Shanxi province after getting what were said to be improperly stored vaccines.

While improperly stored vaccines could become contaminated, getting kids sick, it is unlikely that they would get sick from expired vaccines, which might just be less effective than newer vaccines.

What to Know About Vaccine Scandals in China

While it is horrible that anyone put profits before safety when it comes to keeping kids safe from vaccine-preventable disease, it would also be terrible to further use the China vaccine scandals to scare parents away from vaccinating and protecting their kids.

More on the Vaccine Scandals in China

Updated August 18, 2018