2004 Immunization Schedule

Each January, the American Academy of Pediatrics issues a new schedule for when kids should get their shots, and as usual, there weren't any big surprises.

One of the biggest changes is that instead of a full year schedule, the AAP has only released a partial year schedule this year. This is in anticipation of new recommendations next year for younger kids aged 6 to 24 months to get a yearly flu shot. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) already recommends routine flu shots for these children, and I guess the AAP just needs more time to see if this really is a good idea.

Other minor changes 'include specification of minimum ages for the final doses of several vaccines, including the diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccine, the Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) conjugate vaccine, the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, and the hepatitis B vaccine.' These minimum ages include giving the final dose of:

• DTaP on or after a child's 4th birthday
• Hib and Prevnar on or after a child's 1st birthday
• Hepatitis B after a child is at least 24 weeks old

It also adds FluMist, the nasal spray flu vaccine as 'an acceptable alternative to the inactivated influenza vaccine for healthy persons age 5-49 years old' and states that the tetanus booster (Td) should be givien at when a child is 11 to 12 years of age, instead of the previous recommendation of 11 to 18 years.

View the 2004 Immunization Schedule online.