| ■ Schedules Revised for Flu, Meningitis Vaccines | 2008.01.15 |
| Jan. 11 (HealthDay News) -- Expanded use of the FluMist vaccine for children and revised meningococcal vaccination guidelines for teens are part of new immunization recommendations released Friday. The 2008 Childhood and Adolescent Immunization Schedules were released jointly by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family Physicians. "Although we can now protect more children against more vaccine-preventable diseases than ever before, the immunization schedules can be confusing for parents and physicians," Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said in a prepared statement. "The updates to this year's schedule help clarify our vaccination recommendations and, therefore, should make it easier for parents to protect their children against potentially serious diseases." The childhood schedule changes to expand the recommendation for the nasal spray flu vaccine, FluMist, to now include children from 2 to 4 years of age without a history of asthma or wheezing. The vaccine, which contains a weakened form of the live virus and is sprayed in the nose, had previously been limited to healthy children 5 years of age and older and healthy adults up to age 50. |