Parents PACK Newsletter

August 2009

Parents Pack Newsletter

Possessing, Accessing and Communicating Knowledge About Vaccines

• Feature Article: August is National Immunization Awareness Month
• Spotlight: 2010 Yellow Book
• Did You Know? . . . Vaccination or Immunization?
• Ask the VEC - Immunization of Siblings During Pregnancy
• Around the World: Kill or Cure?
• Trivia Corner - Meningitis Outbreaks

August Trivia Corner

Where do meningitis outbreaks occur so commonly that there is an area referred to as the “meningitis belt?” Find out.

Feature Article: August is National Immunization Awareness Month

During the month of August, take a moment to make sure your entire family is up to date on their immunizations.

Infants

Infants and young children under 2 years old visit the doctor regularly and as a result are typically up to date on their immunizations. However, your child may be behind if there was a shortage of a particular vaccine or a change of recommendations. Check to be sure your child has had the necessary vaccines.

Daycare or preschool

Some states have requirements for preschool children. If your child is just starting daycare or entering preschool, check to see what vaccines are required.

School-aged students

As students prepare to go back to school, they may need to get vaccines that are required for school. Check the requirements in your state, scroll to the bottom of the page where you can select your state to see immunization laws. In addition to kindergarten requirements, your school may also have requirements for students entering middle school.

Recent graduates

For those going to college, certain vaccines may be required; check with the campus health center. Even if your grad is not entering college, he may be at an age where he needs a tetanus booster or other vaccines that may have been missed during adolescence, such as meningococcus or HPV.

Adults

Adults may also need vaccines; check immunization recommendations for yourself, your spouse, parents and other adults in your life. Many adults do not realize that they too need vaccines. For example, did you know that:

• Adults who smoke should get a pneumococcus vaccine?
• Adults who work in the healthcare industry should have the hepatitis B vaccine?
• Those without a spleen need meningococcal and pneumococcal vaccines?
• Adults with cancer, or those around them, may need certain vaccines?
• Those 60 and older should have a shingles vaccine?
• Those with chronic liver disease should have hepatitis A and hepatitis B vaccines?
• All adults should get a tetanus booster every 10 years; the next booster should include a pertussis component if it has not been received yet? This version is called Tdap.
•  Adults who have not had chickenpox should get the varicella vaccine?

To learn more about adult vaccine recommendations, go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) adult immunization schedule or review “Adults and Vaccines: A Lifetime of Health” offered by the Vaccine Education Center at CHOP.

Make August 2009 your family’s immunization update month!

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Spotlight: 2010 Yellow Book

Yellow Book is an informational guide that outlines medical information necessary for international travel. The book is produced by the CDC; it includes information about preparing for travel, vaccines, disease-risk maps, how to find medical care during travel, and information for travelers with special needs.

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Did You Know? . . . Vaccination or Immunization?

Although we commonly use the words vaccination and immunization interchangeably, they are not exactly the same.

Vaccination was first coined as a term when Edward Jenner used cowpox to immunize people against smallpox. The word vaccination comes from the Latin word vaccinae meaning “of the cow.”

Immunization means immunity induced by a biological agent. The word immunization comes from the Latin word Immunes, referring to “a group of soldiers who once having fought and survived a battle never had to fight again.” In our society immunity has come to mean freedom from anything burdensome; in the case of vaccines, our children are the soldiers, the vaccines are the battle and the freedom gained is from disease.

There are two forms of immunization. Active immunization means administering a vaccine, so that the recipient generates her own immune response. Passive immunization means administering antibodies or antitoxins from another source to protect the recipient. Antibodies passed from mother to child through breast milk are an example of passive immunization.

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Ask the VEC - Immunization of Siblings During Pregnancy

Q. I am currently pregnant with my second child, are there any vaccines that my older child should not get while I am pregnant or immediately after I have the baby?

A. No. Your older child can receive any vaccines that he is scheduled to receive during your pregnancy. They do not pose a risk to you or your unborn baby. Similarly, they do not pose a risk once your baby is born.

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Around the World: Kill or Cure? 

GAVI Alliance is a global health partnership whose members work together to save lives by increasing access to vaccines. Together with BBC Worldwide they have produced a series of videos titled “Kill or Cure?”. The videos discuss diseases that are not common in countries of the developed world, but which continue to kill tens of millions of people each year in developing countries.

The 25-minute episodes are posted on the GAVI Alliance Web site. There are 23 episodes available about topics such as meningitis, measles, rotavirus, and influenza.

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Trivia Corner - Meningitis Outbreaks

Meningitis outbreaks occur so commonly in sub-Saharan Africa that an area stretching from Senegal to Ethiopia is known as the “meningitis belt.” People in this area are at increased risk of disease during the dry season (December to June) because of dust winds, compromise of the upper respiratory tract due to cold nights, and severe overcrowding.

To view a map of the area of Africa known as the “meningitis belt,” go to the 2010 Yellow Book (see “Spotlight” section above) chapter about meningococcal disease and scroll about halfway down the page.

Send us your comments

If you have any comments about this newsletter or suggestions about how we can make our Web site more helpful, please send your comments to contactPACK@email.chop.edu.

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