Parents PACK Newsletter

December 2009

Parents Pack Newsletter

Possessing, Accessing and Communicating Knowledge About Vaccines

In this issue:

• Feature Article: Vaccines by the Decades
• Spotlight: New Videos Available
• Did You Know? . . . Lessening the Pain of Vaccines
• Ask the VEC – H1N1 Nasal Vaccine and Pregnant Women
• Around the World: Prevenir TV
• Trivia Corner – Disease Eradication by a Vaccine

December Trivia Corner

What is the only disease to be eradicated from the world by a vaccine? Do you know the answer? Find out

Feature Article: Vaccines by the Decades

The widespread use of vaccines began in the U.S. in the 1940s. At that time vaccines protected against smallpox, tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis. In 1948, the latter three were combined to form the DTP shot.

The 1950s brought the push for a vaccine to protect against polio. In 1955 the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) shot, invented by Jonas Salk, became available. 

During the 1960s, an oral version of the polio vaccine came into common use. By the latter part of the decade, vaccines were also available to protect against measles, mumps and rubella, which were combined into the MMR vaccine in 1971.

By the 1970s, there were two combination vaccines that each contained three vaccines (DTP and MMR), and the oral polio vaccine. The smallpox vaccine was no longer necessary because of successful eradication. 

During the 1980s, vaccines to protect against Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and hepatitis B became available; however, the hepatitis B vaccine was only recommended for people at high risk for the disease.

By the 1990s, public health officials realized that targeting people at high risk wasn’t working, so in 1991 the vaccine was recommended for all infants. New vaccines also became available for chickenpox and rotavirus, and the pertussis vaccine was re-introduced in a more purified form called the acellular pertussis vaccine.

In 2000, public health officials recommended switching back to the polio shot (IPV) to eliminate the rare occurrence of a condition known as vaccine-associated paralytic polio (VAPP) caused by the oral polio vaccine. During this decade, new vaccines also became available for pneumococcus and hepatitis A, and the influenza vaccine was recommended for use by all children older than 6 months of age.

To learn more about the history of vaccine use in the U.S., check out the new page on our Web site.

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Spotlight: New Videos Available

Parents of Kids with Infectious Diseases (PKIDS) has just completed a series of video interviews with families affected by vaccine-preventable diseases. The videos are two to four minutes each and feature families discussing their experiences with chickenpox, hepatitis b, Haemophilus influenzae type b, human papillomavirus, pneumococcus, rotavirus, shingles, and pertussis (whooping cough). Please  take a few minutes to watch the videos.

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Did You Know?... Lessening the Pain of Vaccines

There are a few ways to lessen the pain associated with shots. These include having the child blow a feather or exhaling while the shot is being given, using the cold of evaporating alcohol to mask the pain, or using specially-designed creams or patches. Learn more»

Children who are more relaxed are likely to experience less pain when getting vaccines. Further, studies have shown that children anticipate the feelings of their parents, so a positive, relaxed parent will positively influence the situation as well. Learn more about ways to make the situation more comfortable for yourself and your child:

• Birth to 2 years
• Ages 4 to 6 years
• Adolescents
• Teens

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Ask the VEC –  H1N1 Nasal Vaccine and Pregnant Women

Q. Can someone who got the H1N1 nasal vaccine be near pregnant women?

A. Yes. Although the influenza shot (either seasonal or H1N1) and not the nasal spray is recommended for pregnant women, there is no danger associated with being around others who have received the nasal vaccine.

The theoretical concern is that the nasal version contains live, weakened influenza virus which could be transmitted to a pregnant woman and her developing baby.  However, because the virus is weakened, it is not likely to cause illness in the vaccine recipient or others who may come into contact with them. Also, the nasal spray vaccine virus doesn’t reproduce itself at core body temperatures, so it can’t infect the baby.

The only people an H1N1 nasal spray vaccine recipient should not be around are people who are severely immune compromised, such as bone marrow transplant patients.

To learn more, see the question and answer page on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Web site.

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Around the World: Prevenir TV

Dr. Francisco Eguiarte Anaya established the Center for Vaccination and Prevention (Centro de Vacunacion y Medicina Preventiva) in Guadalajara, Mexico. During the fall of 2009, his group started Prevenir TV which features Spanish programs related to vaccines.

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Trivia Corner – Disease Eradication by a Vaccine

Smallpox has been eradicated from the world through widespread vaccine use. The disease was both dreaded and deadly in its day; in fact, 3 of every 10 people who got smallpox died. 

Edward Jenner was the first to realize that because of their exposure to cowpox, milkmaids were immune when smallpox outbreaks occurred.  He began arm-to-arm inoculations by taking pus from the scab of a person and transferring it to another. By the 1940s, technology allowed for large-scale growth of cowpox and subsequent immunization of entire populations. 

The last case of natural smallpox occurred in Somalia in 1977. Smallpox virus now only exists in two laboratories in the world and is heavily guarded as it is considered a possible agent of bioterrorism.

• Learn more about smallpox on our Web site
• The CDC also has information on its Web site

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