2007 Child, Adolescent Immunization Schedules Released

Rotavirus, HPV Vaccines Added

By News Staff
1/5/2007

Each January brings updated immunization recommendations for infants, children and adolescents developed by the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, in collaboration with the AAFP and American Academy of Pediatrics. This year, because of the increasing number of immunizations recommended for these patient groups, the immunization recommendations have been split into separate schedules according to age ranges -- 0 to 6 years (PDF file: 1 page / 89 KB. More about PDFs.) and 7 to 18 years. (PDF file: 1 page / 89 KB. More about PDFs.)

The 2007 recommendations, which can be accessed from the AAFP's Immunization Resources Web page, also incorporate other changes, including the addition of two entirely new vaccines: the rotavirus vaccine and a vaccine that protects against four human papillomavirus, or HPV, genital subtypes, including types 16 and 18, which have been strongly linked to cervical cancer risk.

A summary of changes to this year's schedules is as follows.

The rotavirus vaccine should be administered in a three-dose schedule at ages 2, 4 and 6 months. The first dose may be administered between 6 and 12 weeks of age, with subsequent doses administered at four- to 10-week intervals. Rotavirus immunization should not be initiated in infants 12 weeks old or older, and the vaccine should not be administered at all to infants who are older than 32 weeks.
The seasonal influenza vaccine is now recommended for all children ages 6 months to 59 months.
Varicella vaccine recommendations have been updated. The first dose should be given at age 12 to 15 months, and a newly recommended second dose should be administered at age 4 to 6 years.
The new quadrivalent HPV vaccine should be administered in a three-dose schedule, with the second and third doses given two and six months, respectively, after the first dose. Routine immunization with HPV is recommended for females 11 to 12 years of age, although the immunization series can be started in females as young as age 9. A catch-up immunization is recommended for young women ages 13 to 26 years who have not been immunized previously against HPV or who have not completed the full vaccine series.

The 2007 recommendations also include a comprehensive catch-up immunization schedule (PDF file: 1 page / 57 KB. More about PDFs.) for patients who start their immunizations late or who are more than one month behind in a given immunization series.

Detailed recommendations for using vaccines may be drawn from the individual products' package inserts or ACIP statements on specific vaccines. As always, clinicians are urged to report any suspected vaccine-related adverse effects to the national Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, or VAERS. Guidance on obtaining and completing VAERS forms is available online or by calling (800) 822-7967.

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