Health News
- It's Time To Get School-age Children Vaccinated; State Requirements Are In Place For Kindergartners And Rising Sixth Graders
An editorial in the Bowling Green Daily News about the importance of getting your child vaccinated before school starts is applicable to all communities in Kentucky. Health.comState law requires children to be vaccinated upon entering kindergarten, with...
- Summer Is A Good Time To Make Sure Your Teenagers Or Preteens Get Their Four Recommended Vaccinations
Vaccines aren't just for babies. Preteens and teens also fall into an age group that has both required immunizations for school and recommended vaccines that can save their lives. Summer is a great time to take care of getting caught up on these vaccinations,...
- High-dose Flu Shot, Which Many Doctors Recommend For Those Over 65 Due To Risk Of Death, Is Becoming More Available
It's time for flu shots, but the annual reminder has a new angle: Fluzone HighDose, a special vaccine designed for people 65 and older, who make up 90 percent of the 23,000 people who die of the flu and its complications. "The high-dose vaccine for...
- Now Is The Time To Get Flu Vaccine, State Health Officials Warn
State public health officials are encouraging Kentuckians to be vaccinated for flu now to reduce the spread of the illness. Steve Davis, M.D., acting commissioner of the Department for Public Health, said in a news release, ?Getting the flu vaccine each...
- New Immunization Rules For Children Take Effect July 1
Starting July 1, Kentucky will have new immunization requirements for infants, toddlers and schoolchildren, including age-appropriate pneumonia vaccine for children up to 5 years of age and meningitis vaccine for entry to the sixth grade. Additional...
Health News
New combination vaccine for children, researched at U of L, could reduce number of children's shots if approved by FDA
A new combination vaccine, awaiting its approval by the federal Food and Drug Administration, may reduce the number injections a child in the U.S. must get in order to be fully immunized, according to a University of Louisville news release.
?Hopefully, this vaccine combination will improve coverage rates," Gary S. Marshall, lead author of the study and professor of pediatrics, said in the release. "Studies show that when you use combination vaccines, more kids get vaccinated on time and by two years of age more are fully protected. When you make it easier, you get better coverage.?
The vaccine protects against six childhood diseases: diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Haemophilus influenza type b, and hepatitis B. It could mean an infant receives one to four fewer injections, depending on which vaccine combinations are used, says the release.
"A similar hexavalent vaccine has been available in Europe for more than a decade and has resulted in more timely immunizations," says the release.
U of L, led by Marshall, coordinated the multi-center trials for the vaccine, which included nearly 1,500 children across the U.S. Results from these trials are published in the August 2015 issue of Pediatrics.
The research determined the drug to be "effective, safe and well-tolerated," says the release. The Pediatrics report said that the new vaccine provided equal immunity to the existing immunization regimen; children who were given the combination vaccine reported "a slightly higher rate of redness at the injection site and slightly higher rate of self-limited fever following the injections, as compared with the established regimen"; and no adverse health events were reported in either group for six months following the final dose.
?Once it is licensed, we can take pride in having brought this new vaccine to the pediatric community and having done our part to simplify the routine immunization schedule,? Marshall said.
?Hopefully, this vaccine combination will improve coverage rates," Gary S. Marshall, lead author of the study and professor of pediatrics, said in the release. "Studies show that when you use combination vaccines, more kids get vaccinated on time and by two years of age more are fully protected. When you make it easier, you get better coverage.?
The vaccine protects against six childhood diseases: diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Haemophilus influenza type b, and hepatitis B. It could mean an infant receives one to four fewer injections, depending on which vaccine combinations are used, says the release.
"A similar hexavalent vaccine has been available in Europe for more than a decade and has resulted in more timely immunizations," says the release.
The research determined the drug to be "effective, safe and well-tolerated," says the release. The Pediatrics report said that the new vaccine provided equal immunity to the existing immunization regimen; children who were given the combination vaccine reported "a slightly higher rate of redness at the injection site and slightly higher rate of self-limited fever following the injections, as compared with the established regimen"; and no adverse health events were reported in either group for six months following the final dose.
?Once it is licensed, we can take pride in having brought this new vaccine to the pediatric community and having done our part to simplify the routine immunization schedule,? Marshall said.
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: Dr. Marshall has been an investigator on clinical trials funded by GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer and Sanofi Pasteur, and he also has received honoraria from these companies for service on advisory boards.
- It's Time To Get School-age Children Vaccinated; State Requirements Are In Place For Kindergartners And Rising Sixth Graders
An editorial in the Bowling Green Daily News about the importance of getting your child vaccinated before school starts is applicable to all communities in Kentucky. Health.comState law requires children to be vaccinated upon entering kindergarten, with...
- Summer Is A Good Time To Make Sure Your Teenagers Or Preteens Get Their Four Recommended Vaccinations
Vaccines aren't just for babies. Preteens and teens also fall into an age group that has both required immunizations for school and recommended vaccines that can save their lives. Summer is a great time to take care of getting caught up on these vaccinations,...
- High-dose Flu Shot, Which Many Doctors Recommend For Those Over 65 Due To Risk Of Death, Is Becoming More Available
It's time for flu shots, but the annual reminder has a new angle: Fluzone HighDose, a special vaccine designed for people 65 and older, who make up 90 percent of the 23,000 people who die of the flu and its complications. "The high-dose vaccine for...
- Now Is The Time To Get Flu Vaccine, State Health Officials Warn
State public health officials are encouraging Kentuckians to be vaccinated for flu now to reduce the spread of the illness. Steve Davis, M.D., acting commissioner of the Department for Public Health, said in a news release, ?Getting the flu vaccine each...
- New Immunization Rules For Children Take Effect July 1
Starting July 1, Kentucky will have new immunization requirements for infants, toddlers and schoolchildren, including age-appropriate pneumonia vaccine for children up to 5 years of age and meningitis vaccine for entry to the sixth grade. Additional...