Healthy Combination

This is the era of combination vaccines. The number of recommended immunizations during childhood has increased in the past years.

Combination vaccines reduce the pain for the infant and also cuts down on the visits to the doctor

This is the era of combination vaccines. The number of recommended immunizations during childhood has increased in the past years. Under the immunisation schedule infants receive vaccines against 11 diseases in the first two years of their life and the total number of shots is 37 through six years of age. Sometimes the child may receive as many as five injections at a single visit to the clinic to cope up with the immunisation schedule enabling protection against additional diseases with a single shot. The pain that a child experiences when he is poked is not any less painful for his parents, says Dr Y K Amdekar, former president of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics.

Pain to children can be minimised by the usage of newer combination vaccines with higher safety, efficacy and quality. Combination vaccines merge into a single product, multiple antigens that prevent different diseases caused by various infectious agents like bacteria and viruses. Thus they reduce the number of injections required to prevent major killer diseases. A combination vaccine is a practical way to overcome the constraints of multiple injections, Amdekar points out.

Pentavalent vaccines prevent harmful diseases like diptheria, pertussis whooping cough, tetanus, poliomyelitis Polio, and HiB Haemophilus influenza type B. These combination vaccines have a very high protective efficacy against five childhood killer diseases.

Pentavalent vaccines are usually given in three doses. The three doses are given at six weeks, 10 weeks and 14 weeks of age respectively. After three doses children can receive a booster dose between 15 to 18 months and WHO schedule is utilised for primary series.

Combination vaccines provide prevention against several diseases like Diptheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Poliomyelitis and Hib simultaneously. They reduce the number of injections required and make the immunization schedule less complex. They aim at greater population coverage and help to reduce disease transmission.

A study, recently published in The Journal of Pediatrics, shows that efficacy or safety is not compromised when clinicians administer a new combination vaccine that streamlines the process of poking the child a number of times for each vaccine separately.

Story continues below this ad

Combination vaccines help to simplify the current immunisation schedule. They decrease the anxiety of the parents and healthcare providers because of perceived reduction in pain for the infant. They also tend to reduce the missed opportunities to vaccinate the risk of needle sticks as a result of handling fewer syringes and improve the record keeping. They are economical for the parents as they involve fewer vaccine administration charges and potentially fewer clinic visits. Therefore, incorporation of combination vaccines into clinical practice will benefit infants, parents, healthcare providers, office managers, and managed care administrators alike, stresses Amdekar.