Do I still need to get vaccinated after the recommended vaccination time?

Answer: It depends on the specific situation

Because of the epidemic, some children have not been vaccinated in time, and some have passed Given the recommended vaccination time, many people have this doubt.

The purpose of vaccination is, on the one hand, to reduce the incidence of infectious diseases, and on the other hand, in case of disease, It can also reduce symptoms or avoid some critical illnesses.

Some childhood diseases have certain age characteristics, such as rotavirus enteritis, which mainly occurs in children between 6 months and 2 years old, and severe cases also mainly occur in The first infection is this high-incidence age group.

If the child is over 2 years old and has not been vaccinated against rotavirus, the child has a high probability of having been infected with rotavirus and already has some antibodies in his body, so there is a risk of getting the disease It has been significantly reduced, and even if you get it, the symptoms are usually not severe, and the significance of re-vaccination is not great.

At the same time, we also know that on the one hand, vaccination has economic costs. On the other hand, although the adverse reactions are small, they still exist. For rotavirus, the benefit/risk ratio of revaccination is low if the recommended age for vaccination is missed. So, for rotavirus vaccine, AAP’s recommendation is that if it has not been vaccinated after 15 weeks, it is not recommended to vaccinate.

Diseases with similar age characteristics include: Streptococcus pneumoniae infection, invasive Haemophilus influenzae infection, hand-foot-mouth disease and herpetic angina.

For example, the 13-valent pneumonia vaccine is mainly used to prevent Streptococcus pneumoniae infection. This infection is most common within 2 years of age, and the risk is also greater. Therefore, the 13-valent pneumonia vaccine is highly recommended. The recommended age for vaccination is basic immunization in February, April, and June, and booster vaccination in December-15.

Because the risk of Streptococcus pneumoniae infection still exists in children under the age of 5, it is not that the recommended vaccination age mentioned above will be ineffective, and revenue is reduced. According to the recommendations of the US CDC, children over 2 years old, if they have not been vaccinated before, are still recommended to receive 1 dose before the age of 6. Vaccination is not recommended after the age of 6, unless there is a special chronic disease, or if you are over the age of 65, when the risk becomes greater.

For other diseases, such as hepatitis B, before the body has hepatitis B antibodies, if the blood or close life is exposed to the hepatitis B virus, it may be infected regardless of age. Therefore, it should be vaccinated as soon as possible after birth to provide protection. If it is not vaccinated at this recommended time, it is still recommended to vaccinate as soon as possible as long as it has not been infected, or there are not enough antibodies in the body.

Similarly, it is recommended to vaccinate as soon as possible for some people who have no chance to be in contact and have no risk of infection at ordinary times, but are at imminent risk of exposure due to travel and accidents, such as yellow fever Disease vaccines, rabies vaccines, etc. In addition, there are some seasonal epidemic diseases, and the virus changes every year, such as influenza. Before the influenza season comes every year, it is recommended to get vaccinated as soon as possible. If you do not get vaccinated at the first time, before the end of the influenza season, still Vaccination is recommended.

So, on the whole, if the optimal vaccination time is missed, it is necessary to comprehensively evaluate the characteristics of the disease, the age of the vaccinator, and the risk of occurrence, so as to judge whether it is necessary to continue the vaccination. (This article was first published in 2019, slightly modified)

Related reading:< /span>

Does vaccination and fever mean that you are not in good health?

What vaccines do adults need? What about pregnancy and breastfeeding?

A child is bitten by a child, do I need a rabies vaccine?

Course | What’s the matter with the 3, 4, and 5 vaccines, do they all need to be shot?


About the issue of vaccines, there is a systematic lecture on YiheColumn Courses, become a member of Yihe, you can listen to it for free, and you can listen to more courses including “Required Courses for Parents” for free, and you can also enjoy a 12% discount on Ask a Doctor, and see it in Yihe outpatient clinic. 20% discount on consultation, etc., you can learn more about it through the QR code below.