Vaccine Changes

Vaccine Changes New Vaccine Recommendations

There are several new vaccine recommendations at Framingham Pediatrics. We hope you will have a chance to review some information on these changes prior to your visit to the office.

Second Dose of Chickenpox Vaccine

A second dose of chickenpox vaccine is now recommended for all children and adolescents who have previously received one dose, though it is not yet a school requirement. The second dose will be given prior to kindergarten entry for children who have not yet reached that age. Children who have received their kindergarten vaccines in the past 1 - 2 years already received a second dose at that time. Children older than 1st or 2nd grade will need a second dose at their earliest convenience. We will be recommending the vaccine routinely at well child visits for these children.

If your children are exposed to chickenpox and have not yet received a second dose of the vaccine, we encourage you to schedule the vaccine as soon as possible in order to decrease the chance of developing chickenpox from the exposure.

Tdap Vaccine

We have been using a new form of diphtheria and tetanus vaccine for adolescents entering 7th grade for over a year. The Tdap vaccine adds protection against pertussis ("whooping cough") to the previous vaccine that protected against diphteria and tetanus only. This new vaccine should significantly diminish the number of cases of whooping cough recently being seen in middle schools and high schools. The Tdap vaccine is now recommended for adolescents who received the old Td vaccine more than five years ago.

The new Tdap vaccine is also recommended for adolescents and adults who are exposed to pertussis ("whooping cough,") or who have significant family or work-related exposure to young infants, even if they have had the old Td vaccine in the past five years. Young infants are not yet vaccinated against pertussis, and the disease can be deadly to them. Parents of newborn infants are encouraged to seek this new vaccine from their own physicians.

Meningitis Vaccine

We are recommending the meningococcal ("meningitis") vaccine for all adolescents entering 7th grade and older. The new form of meningitis vaccine, known as MCV4 or Menactra has been available for several years, but its supply has been severely limited. It is now available for use as recommended above. Only one dose of the vaccine is needed.

Cervical Cancer Vaccine

We are also recommending the HPV ("cervical cancer") vaccine for all girls entering 7th grade or older. This vaccine prevents infection from 2 types of HPV that cause 70% of cervical cancer, and from 2 types of HPV that cause 90% of genital warts. It is one of only 2 vaccines that prevent cancer (the other is Hepatitis B Vaccine!) Every year in the US, about 10,000 women get cervical cancer, and 3700 die from it.

The vaccine is a 3 shot series given over 6 months. It is now routinely recommended for girls entering 7th grade or older. It is preferable for girls to get HPV vaccine before their first sexual contact.

New Vaccine Schedule

Here is a guide of what to expect at your next yearly physical. Only the 7th grade Tdap is currently a required vaccine. The others are optional at this time. Many adolescents have already had some of the vaccines listed below and will not need them repeated.

All Children Entering 2nd Grade and older: 2nd Chickenpox Vaccine
Boys Entering 7th Grade: Tdap, Meningitis and Chickenpox Vaccines
Girls Entering 7th Grade: Tdap, Meningitis, Cervical Cancer and Chickenpox Vaccines
Boys Entering 8th - 11th Grade: Meningitis and Chickenpox Vaccines
Girls Entering 8th - 11th Grade: Meningitis, Cervical Cancer and Chickenpox Vaccines
Boys Entering 12th Grade and older: Tdap and Meningitis Vaccines
Girls Entering 12th Grade and older: Tdap, Meningitis and Cervical Cancer Vaccines

Finances

We are very happy to say that all of the above vaccines are provided to us for free by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, with the exception of the cervical cancer vaccine. We have had very good success with getting insurers to pay for the cervical cancer vaccine. If you have coverage with one of the smaller insurance companies in the area, please check with them or with our staff for information on vaccine coverage.

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