FROM PEDIATRICS
The 2015 childhood and adolescent immunization schedule will be published online only for the first time, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Moving the schedule online will ensure that providers have the most current recommendations, according to the AAP’s Committee on Infectious Diseases (Pediatrics 2015 [doi:10.1542/peds.2014-3955]). The schedule will be updated when new vaccines are released, new recommendations are published, or when a current recommendation is changed. The website also will include tables to clarify recommended use of certain vaccines, such as vaccines containing pertussis.
Changes to the 2015 schedule are relatively minor. A new column highlights availability of the inactivated and live-attenuated influenza vaccine for children 2-8 years old, along with a recommendation for two doses for some children; a second column indicates when two doses are no longer needed. In addition, a purple bar has been added for young children aged 6 months to less than 12 months traveling outside the United States and who will need the MMR vaccine, the committee said.
Small clarifying changes were added to many vaccinations in the catch-up schedule, and minor changes were made in the footnotes to the DTaP and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. The influenza footnote now includes new contraindications and precautions for the live-attenuated vaccine. Extensive changes were made to the meningococcal footnote, which clarify dosing schedules for children and infants at high risk, the committee reported.
The 2015 schedule can be found on the CDC website and on the AAP website.
