Written By: Longjam Dineshwori | Updated : December 1, 2022 2:14 PM IST
However, despite MR's supplemental immunization catch-up campaign, pockets of low immunity at sub-national levels and dropouts after the first dose of vaccine remained a significant issue.
Early vaccination help protect children from various life-threatening diseases and live healthier lives. In India, several vaccines are provided free of cost to infants and children under the Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) such as BCG, Hepatitis B vaccine, Measles vaccine, Rotavirus Vaccine, Tetanus and adult diphtheria (Td) vaccine. It is important to vaccinate your child but watching your little one cry due to pain during vaccination can be distressful for parents and caregivers. The development of combination vaccines turned out to be boon for children and parents. With combination vaccines, children get same protection with fewer shots.
To learn about combination vaccines for children, we connected with Dr. Rashmi. R, Consultant - Pediatrics and Neonatology, Motherhood Hospitals, Whitefield, Bangalore. Below are exerts from the exclusive interaction:
The first 2 years are very precious for children as they should be vaccinated at the right time to avoid future health complications and to shield themselves against deadly diseases. Combination vaccines have two or more vaccines that are given in one shot which could be given individually in different shots, these vaccines are effective as children are protected against more diseases. Some such vaccines are so common that they are generally known by their initials, you must have heard of MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) and DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis). Each protects the child against three diseases and can be taken in one shot.
With combination vaccines, your child gets full protection, with less pain and discomfort. Using combination vaccines also benefits parents and caregivers in many ways.
Benefits for children
Fewer Doses: Making vaccines is essential to ensure immunity against certain diseases that can also be life-threatening to children. With combination vaccines, you can ensure their protection from multiple diseases with only fewer doses.
Less Painful: Getting fewer doses of vaccine would mean that your child will have to go through comparatively less pain and discomfort.
On-time protection: Getting different vaccines may come up with long schedules whereas taking combination vaccines is relatively faster and provides on-time protection to your children.
Benefits for parents
Fewer visits to the doctor: Taking fewer vaccines will save parents from long vaccine schedules. Children are advised to take it and thus, their parents save themselves from a long vaccine list.
Less hassle and cost with fewer visits: Taking combination vaccines will come cost-effective for parents as they don't have to spend separately for different appointments.
Less time off from work or family activity: More visits would mean taking more leaves from your work which can be avoided with a combination of vaccines. Some vaccines also come with side effects and in that case, you will have to be around your children to take care of them which will further require your time off work.
These vaccines go through careful testing for their efficiency and safety before they can be approved to be called combination vaccines. If the vaccine makes it to all the safety parameters, it is approved to be used. The reactions are recorded during this procedure. There is a whole team in place to keep their eye on adverse reactions and side effects, and thus, these vaccines are safe to be used on a wide scale and are to be given to your children as per the schedule.
These vaccines are very tolerable or have very mild side effects. You won't need to be worried about mild symptoms like pain and swelling in the area where the shot has been given. On the other hand, if your child takes individual shots then, they will have to go through the pain and swelling multiple times, and thus, combination vaccines are preferred. The side effects that can come with it include swelling, pain, or fever that can last 2-3 days. In some cases, doctors can prescribe medication to ease the symptoms. We must make sure that you are following all the instructions carefully for the vaccine to be effective.
Vaccines are one of the most cost-effective medical interventions and the government does make schemes and promotes them to make them accessible to a large population but even after that the coverage rate and the targets have a huge gap due to several factors. Many people are unaware of the necessity of vaccines while some are concerned about vaccination's value and benefits.
In such cases, combination vaccines come as a great option where various antigens are merged into a single dose. Not only do these vaccines provide intrinsic benefits to the parents and infants but to the healthcare provider as well as it helps them in saving time and decreases the risk of error in preparing and administering fewer vaccines, which further reduces the cost of stocking for separate vaccines and makes record keeping much easier.
India introduced its first innovative 6-in-1 vaccine, dubbed Hexaxim, in 2016. The vaccine developed by Sanofi Pasteur protects infants and toddlers against six major childhood diseases diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio, haemophilus influenza B and hepatitis B. It is administered by injection to infants and toddlers, with three primary doses given at 6, 10, and 14 weeks followed by a booster dose in the second year of life. It is injected into the baby's thigh.
Last year, a six-in-one pediatric combination vaccine, called VAXELIS, was first launched the United States. Developed by Merck and Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine is designed to help children protect against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, poliomyelitis, hepatitis B, and invasive disease due to Haemophilus influenzae type b. VAXELIS is administered as a 3-dose series in children six weeks through four years of age.
Below are some other currently available combination vaccines for children:
Pediarix (DTaP + Hep B + IPV): This provides protection from five diseases that include Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, and polio.
ProQuad (MMR + varicella (chickenpox): This provides protection from four diseases which are measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella.
Kinrix (DTaP + IPV): This vaccine is used to protect children from diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and polio)
Pentacel (DTaP + IPV + Hib): This vaccine prevent kids from 5 diseases (Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, and Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b).
