2016 Immunization Schedule: AAP Adds HPV, MenB Vaccines for Children & Adolescents

The Amercan Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released an updated guideline on the 2016 immunization schedule for children and adolescents.

According to MedPage Today, the most notable vaccines added to the list are serogroup B meningococcal (MenB) and the 9-valent human papillomavirus (9HPV) vaccine. It is an improved vaccine as it helps protect against 9 strains of HPV. The latter was added after it was mentioned in the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) last year in February.

According to a survey published in the journal Pediatrics, a quarter of people living in the US are infected with a strain of HPV whch in turn could develop into cancers. The most common kinds of cancers caused by HPV infection are vaginal, anala, vulvar, and penile cancers. Therefore, vaccinating 11 to 12 year olds could help prevent future cases of cancers in the country each year.

There have been challenges in getting parental consent for vaccinating pre-teens with it as the reluctance stems from talking about sex and sexually transmitted diseases with their kids.

"The vaccine continues to be controversial, and it's unfortunate that it's gotten wrapped up in the politics and ethical issues," said Dr. H. Cody Messiner via Chicago Tribune. "We've always wanted a vaccine that protects against cancer, and now we've got one and people aren't using it as widely as they should."

The MenB vaccine has also been added to the schedule for high-risk adolescents. It is especially recommended for children who are actively living and therefore exposed in communities with outbreaks.

The recommended schedule posted on the CDC website has been color coded. Yellow indicates the recommended age range for a certain vaccine, green indicate the recommended catch-up age in years, while purple indicate the recommended immunization age for groups at high risk and a new blur bar indicate the range of recommended ages for people who are not part of high-risk groups.

According to the statement from the AAP, the combined green and purple "indicates the recommended age when vaccine catch-up is encouraged for certain high-risk groups."

Additionally, the white boxes indicate that that age may not be the right time to get a certain vaccine.

"The catch-up schedule offers recommendations for children and adolescents 4 months through 18 years of age who start vaccinations late or are >1 month behind."

The recommendations were approved by the AAP, ACIP and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).