Coverage Of Childhood Vaccination During A Pandemic Should Remain The Same - Pediatrician Fedor Katasonov

Coverage of childhood vaccination during a pandemic should remain the same - pediatrician Fedor Katasonov

According to Fedor Katasonov, a leading specialist at GSM Clinic, the suspension of routine vaccinations is fraught with a surge in morbidity and other infections. Fyodor Katasonov spoke about the peculiarities of vaccination of children in the era of the coronavirus pandemic in an interview timed to coincide with the ending World Immunization Week.

Pediatrician Fedor Katasonov / Photo: gmsclinic.ru

According to the pediatrician of the GMS clinic Fyodor Katasonov, routine vaccination of infants should be carried out even during an epidemic.

“You can delay the terms of revaccination, that is, the repetition of the vaccinations already done to consolidate and lengthen their duration. But revaccination is carried out from the second year of life, and this does not apply to newborn babies, who, if possible, need to get all vaccinations on time,”the doctor said.

So, according to the instructions, vaccinations against rotavirus should be done no later than 15 weeks of life and end before 8 months. Otherwise, vaccination will be incomplete and may not be effective enough. Katasonov also emphasized the importance of vaccinations against measles and chickenpox - these are very volatile infections that can be infected by driving in an elevator after a sick person, or through ventilation, so the self-isolation regime is not sufficient to protect against them.

The doctor, in particular, reminded of the need to protect themselves from tick-borne encephalitis on the eve of summer, so if a family plans self-isolation in a country house in an endemic area, this vaccination becomes urgent for them.

Answering the question from the editors of the Medportal regarding vaccination against hepatitis B, Katasonov recalled that it is usually included in combination vaccines, which also include tetanus, pertussis, and diphtheria. Immunity to these diseases must be acquired on time, so these vaccinations cannot be postponed.

“But if the hepatitis B vaccine is done separately, then there is no need to rush,” the doctor said, noting that it is extremely difficult to get infected with this disease in self-isolation mode.

According to the pediatrician, there is no data on whether the coronavirus affects the effectiveness of vaccination, and vaccination somehow affects the course of the disease, so it is not worth canceling routine vaccinations even if one of the parents has symptoms of coronavirus.

"Suspicion of coronavirus is not a contraindication to vaccination," Fyodor Katasonov emphasized.