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Appendices

The following text is from an archived Red Book® edition and may not reflect current recommendations or information. To view the current edition, click here.

Section 1. Active and Passive Immunization

ACTIVE IMMUNIZATION

Scheduling Immunizations

A vaccine is intended to be administered to a person who is capable of an appropriate immunologic response and who likely will benefit from the protection given. However, optimal immunologic response for the person must be balanced against the need to achieve effective protection against disease. For example, pertussis-containing vaccines may be less immunogenic in early infancy than later in infancy, but the benefit of conferring early protection in young infants dictates that immunization should be given despite a lessened serum antibody response. In some developing countries, OPV vaccine is given at birth, in accordance with recommendations of the World Health Organization, for a similar reason.

With parenterally administered live-virus vaccines, the inhibitory effect of residual specific maternal antibody determines the optimal age of administration. For example, live-virus measles vaccine in use in the United States has suboptimal rates of successful immunization during the first year of life mainly . . . [Go to Full Text]