Recommended Vaccine List

January 26, 2016

What are all the available vaccines and what are they for? I’ve listed them all below, organized by age groups. The common abbreviation is in parenthesis, followed by what each vaccine protects against, if not explicit in the name (e.g., Hepatitis B protects against Hepatitis B infection). Of note, I have only listed the common things that each vaccine protects against. (Nearly all the viruses AND bacteria have severe side effects [e.g., death] that I have not listed here.)

  1. Vaccines recommended for children 0-6 years old

    1. Hepatits B (hep B)

    2. Rotavirus: Rotavirus is a virus that causes severe diarrhea. It can also cause vomiting and fever.

    3. Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (DtaP): Diphtheria is a bacteria that causes a thick covering on the back of the throat making it hard to breathe. Tetanus (i.e., Lockjaw) is a bacteria that causes painful tightening of all the muscles. Pertussis (i.e., Whooping cough) is a bacteria that causes violent coughing spells.

    4. Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib): Haemophilus Influenza B is a bacteria that causes meningitis, pneumonia, blood stream infections, ear infections, and deafness.

    5. Pneumococcal (PCV-pneumococcal conjugate vaccine)/(PPSV-pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine): Pneumoccoccal protects against a bacteria called Streptococcus pneumoniae, which causes meningitis, blood stream infections, pneumonia, and ear infections.

    6. Inactivated Poliovirus (IPV)

    7. Influenza

    8. Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR)

    9. Varicella: Varicella (i.e., Chickenpox) is a virus that causes rash, itching, fever, and lethargy (feeling tired).

    10. Hepatitis A (hep A)

    11. Meningococal (for certain high risk groups only): Meningococcal disease is a bacterial infection that causes meningitis and blood stream infections.

  1. Vaccines recommended for persons 7-18 years old. (Note: f-j are only given as catch-up vaccinations if the patient wasn’t vaccinated at a younger age.)

    1. Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis (Tdap)

    2. Human Papillomavirus (HPV): Human Papillomavirus causes cervical cancer and genital warts.

    3. Meningococcal

    4. Influenza

    5. Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV): Certain high-risk groups only

    6. Hepatitis A (hep A)

    7. Hepatitis B (hep B)

    8. Inactivated Poliovirus (IPV)

    9. Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR)

    10. Varicella

  1. Other vaccines licensed in the US but not routinely given. These vaccines are only given in certain circumstances (e.g., a unique exposure or travel to foreign countries).

    1. Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG)

    2. Japanese encephalitis

    3. Rabies

    4. Typhoid

    5. Yellow fever

    6. Zoster

  1. Combination Vaccines. These vaccinations utilize multiple vaccinations. I am a big proponent of combination vaccines so a child doesn’t have to get poked quite so many times. However, they can be a little tricky to use because certain vaccines are only approved in certain age groups. The vaccine is listed first, followed by the trade name in parenthesis.

    1.  Hib-HepB (Comvax)

    2. DtaP/Hib (TriHIBit)

    3. Hep A-HepB (Twinrix)

    4. DtaP-HepB-IPV (Pediarix)

    5. MMRV (ProQuad)

    6. DtaP-IPV (Kinrix)

    7. DtaP-IPV/Hib (Pentacel).

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