What are the vaccines in the immunization program? You also need to get the vaccines beyond the required amount!

Audit expert: Mao Xinmei

Chief Physician of Pediatrics, Ningxia Women and Children's Hospital, Peking University First Hospital For new parents, in addition to taking good care of the baby's daily life, there is one thing that needs special attention, and that is children's vaccination.

The Regulations on Vaccine Circulation and Immunization Management issued by the National Health Commission of China mentions that existing vaccines are divided into free vaccines and other vaccines. Free vaccines, as the name suggests, are provided free of charge by the government to citizens, mainly for children, including 13 types of vaccines, such as BCG, hepatitis B vaccine, measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, and pertussis vaccine.

Source: China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

In addition to free vaccines, there is another type of vaccine called non-immunization program vaccines, which are voluntary and require citizens to pay for them themselves, including influenza vaccines, chickenpox vaccines, rotavirus vaccines, etc. Since it is a voluntary choice, can babies not be vaccinated with these vaccines? In fact, these vaccines are also very important for the prevention of human diseases.

Source: Weibo

Before introducing the importance of non-immunisation program vaccines, let us first understand why we should vaccinate our babies?

1Why should babies be vaccinated?

After a baby is born, its body is still in the growth and development stage, and its immunity is weak, making it vulnerable to viruses and bacteria. Vaccination is equivalent to adding a protective barrier to the newborn. The essence of vaccines is that most of them are protein fragments or genetic material fragments of viruses and bacteria, but their toxicity will be removed, and they are also called inactivated vaccines.

Vaccination can stimulate the acquired immunity of newborns, stimulate their immune system to produce specific immune responses, produce corresponding antibodies, and acquire immune memory. When the body is actually invaded by pathogens, the immune system has already had experience in dealing with it, and it is not easy to get seriously infected.

Source: pixabay

For the free vaccines stipulated by the state, children must be vaccinated on time and obtain the corresponding certificates. Without the vaccination certificates, it may even affect their admission to kindergartens and schools in the future.

2Is it necessary to get non-immunisation program vaccines?

Among the existing non-immunization program vaccines in my country, some vaccines have played a good complementary role to the first category of vaccines, providing a wider range of protection for the human body and preventing some infectious diseases that are not covered by immunization program vaccines. For example, rotavirus is the main cause of severe dehydration diarrhea in children under 5 years old worldwide. Rotavirus infectious diarrhea is the second cause of emergency and death in infants and young children (except respiratory tract infections). Vaccination with rotavirus vaccine is the most important measure to effectively prevent rotavirus enteritis in children.

Source: Zhihu

Hand, foot and mouth disease is a common infectious disease in children, mostly occurring in children under 5 years old. The course of the disease is usually 7 to 10 days. However, every year some children suffer from a rapid deterioration of their condition, leading to serious complications in the brain, heart and lungs, and even death.

According to statistics, more than 70% of severe cases and more than 90% of deaths from hand, foot and mouth disease are related to EV71 (enterovirus 71) infection. The EV71 vaccine can effectively prevent hand, foot and mouth disease caused by the EV71 virus. Therefore, timely vaccination can effectively reduce the risk of severe illness and death in young children.

Source: pixabay

Similarly, the Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccine (Hib vaccine for short) is used to prevent serious bacterial infections in children caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b, such as meningitis, pneumonia, pharyngitis, sepsis, etc. This bacterial infection is generally susceptible to the population, and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that Hib vaccine be included in all routine infant immunization plans. It is recommended to start vaccination at 2 months of age, with a basic injection of 1 dose per month for a total of 3 doses, and a booster dose at 18 months of age.
The influenza vaccine, which is not part of the immunization program, is the most effective means of preventing influenza disease and can also effectively reduce the risk of disease complications.

So why are these vaccines so important, but the country does not include them in the free vaccines? First of all, the division between free vaccines and self-paid vaccines is based on national policies, not on the importance of vaccines. The number of immunization vaccines is limited by the cost of vaccines.

With the development of the economy, immunization program vaccines and non-immunization program vaccines are not absolutely unchanged. With the increase in vaccine production capacity and the maturity of various conditions, many non-immunization program vaccines will also be included in the national immunization program.

3 The history of immunization program vaccines

In terms of immunization program, my country initially only had four vaccines (BCG, polio, diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus, and measles), which could prevent six infectious diseases, which was the earliest "four vaccines to prevent six diseases."

In 2002, my country included hepatitis B vaccine in its immunization program and provided it free of charge to newborns.

After the implementation of the expanded national immunization program in 2007, on the basis of the original national immunization program vaccines, acellular diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus vaccine replaced diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus vaccine, and hepatitis A vaccine, meningococcal vaccine, Japanese encephalitis vaccine, and measles, mumps and rubella vaccine were included in the national immunization program, expanded to eleven vaccines to prevent twelve infectious diseases, and routine vaccination was carried out for children of appropriate age.

At present, in many provinces and economically developed cities in my country, such as Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and other places, varicella vaccine has been included in the child immunization program vaccine management and implemented free vaccination, and influenza vaccine and pneumonia vaccine are provided free of charge for people over 65 years old.

Secondly, not all immunization vaccines are free . If you want to choose imported vaccines or some inactivated vaccines, you will also need to pay for them yourself.

Now that we have talked about non-immunisation program vaccines, what else should we pay attention to when getting vaccinated?

4What should I pay attention to before and after vaccination?

First of all, regarding children’s vaccination, you need to pay attention to the corresponding vaccination age.

The country has conducted rigorous clinical trials on the immune effects of the vaccine and obtained the optimal vaccination time.

Vaccination in advance may cause the latter dose of vaccine to interfere with the antibodies produced by the previous dose of vaccine, causing antibody infection and affecting the immune effect; delaying vaccination will be detrimental to the formation of children's immunity. If the child has exceeded the upper age limit for vaccination and has not been vaccinated, according to the "National Immunization Program Vaccine Children's Immunization Procedures and Instructions", no booster shot will be given. For specific circumstances, parents can ask their doctor to make appropriate time arrangements in advance.

In addition, some vaccinations have no specific time limits. For example, there is no age range for influenza vaccination. Both adults and children can be vaccinated once a year, but babies under 6 months old cannot be vaccinated.

Secondly, you should also pay attention to the contraindications of vaccination. Different vaccines have different contraindications and precautions. If you feel unwell or have other diseases, you must tell the doctor truthfully before vaccination, and the doctor will determine whether you are suitable for vaccination.

Third, after vaccination, it is recommended to rest and observe in the hospital for 30 minutes, and leave only if there are no other discomfort symptoms (beware of some unknown allergic reactions). After vaccination, you should also pay attention to rest more and avoid strenuous exercise to prevent inducing other diseases and affecting the effectiveness of the vaccine.

Fourth, after vaccination, some children will experience low fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, etc., and redness, swelling, and lumps will appear at the vaccination site. These are generally normal reactions to vaccination and do not require additional treatment. They will disappear on their own within 48 hours.

However, if you experience symptoms such as high fever, rash, large area of ​​redness and swelling at the vaccination site, seek medical attention immediately.

In general, in the existing domestic vaccine system, immunization program vaccines are required for each of us, while non-immunization program vaccines can be vaccinated according to one's own situation and seasonal common diseases.

Modern medicine is highly developed and our medical level is constantly improving, but there are still many diseases that cannot be effectively prevented by vaccination. I hope that with the continuous development of science and technology, scientists will be able to develop more vaccines in the future to build a stronger health barrier for our bodies.