Vaccination catch-ups: part I

Abstract

When a vaccine is registered with the Medicines Control Council (MCC), it is administered according to the recommended intervals that have been evaluated in clinical trials. It is not registered with the anticipation that it will be used when a patient needs to catch up a vaccination. It often happens that infants are not brought to the clinic at the correct intervals in order to comply with their immunisation schedule. It is of the utmost importance that these children are vaccinated when they do eventually present. However, this presents a dilemma for the nurse who has to immunise the child. In this article, the first of two, we will discuss how to catch up on vaccinations for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) in children who have started to receive their vaccinations late or have missed them. These recommendations are based on the guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the USA and the World Health Organization (WHO) on completing immunisations in children having late vaccinations or in those who have had their vaccine schedules interrupted.