Health Watch Fewer Shots For Children

June 23, 2003 --

By Steve Roldan-KFOX News At Nine Reporter

It's the dreaded office visit. You're there encouraging your little one, letting them know that everything will be alright, and that this is will keep them from getting sick. Then walks in the nurse with the needle, but to your child it might as well be a machete. Yes, children have to endure a number of shots to protect themselves against disease. But kids can now receive five immunizations in the form of just one shot.

One shot.two shots little Jordan Swain will have to get three more of these before it's all said and done and he's not happy about it. But future children might have less to cry about. A vaccine recently approved by the food and drug administration will cut down on the number of shots a child has to receive.

Dr. Jan Drutz-Pediatrician: "This current vaccine that has just been recently licensed and will be on the market soon will contain five different vaccines. It will contain Diptheria, Pertusis, Tetanus, Hepatitis B, and Polio."

Studies have shown that combining the vaccines and giving the child one shot provided the same protection as giving the shots separately. Combining the vaccines not only makes it easier on the child, but also on those who have to watch. Angela Swain has to watch both of her sons get shots the same day.

Angela Swain-Mom: "There's really no anxiety because I know they need it to keep them well and fight off various diseases. So really no anxiety, I just worry about them being irritable, but the Tylenol helps."

It also makes the job of giving the shots easier for a nurse like Kristin Gibbons.

Kristin Gibbons-Pediatric Nurse: "Because you're making them hurt. You know that it's better for them, but you're seeing them cry, and then the parents get upset a lot, so if there's less vaccinations to give, they won't be so upset."

Researchers are currently working on vaccines that can be put directly on the skin or even grown in vegetables, possibly eliminating scenes like this for good.

If you would like more medical news, visit our health partners at their websites. The Mayo Clinic: http://www.medicaledge.org

Baylor College of Medicine: http://public.bcm.tmc.edu/