The Costco Connection

THE COS TCO CONNECTION

Costco members can receive a variety of vaccinations at Costco pharmacies. Services can vary from state to state. Check with your Costco pharmacist.

Taking your

best shot Vaccination schedules from birth to adulthood What the shots are for

BY LEAH INGRAM

MEASLES, MUMPS AND whooping cough are all diseases that regular vaccinations greatly diminished. Unfortunately, they have re-emerged.

“The problem is parents not adhering to
vaccination schedules and children not being
up-to-date on their vaccines,” explains Dr.
Camille Sabella, director of the Center for
Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Cleveland
Clinic Children’s Hospital. “Then these chil-
dren become susceptible to diseases we are
trying to prevent.”
Every state has student immunization
laws, says the National Conference of State
Legislatures, so the back-to-school season is
the perfect time to review vaccines, the ages at
which children receive them and the reason
they’re so important.

If you’re confused about how vaccine schedules work, it’s best to speak with your child’s doctor.

The information to the right was compiled through interviews with and research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( cdc.gov), the National Conference of State Legislatures ( ncsl.org), the Pan American Health Organization ( paho.org), the American Academy of Family Physicians ( aafp.org) and the National Cancer Institute ( cancer.gov). C

Costco member and author Leah Ingram covers a variety of health and lifestyle topics.

HEPATITIS A AND B: these viruses can cause serious liver damage, including liver cancer.

Human papilloma virus (HPV): HPV can cause cervical cancer in women.

Influenza: The influenza virus causes a respiratory illness with fever and chills, sore throat and cough, aches and fatigue.

Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR):

The MMR vaccine protects against three diseases. Measles can lead to pneumonia, seizures, brain damage and death; mumps can lead to deafness, meningitis and sterility; and rubella can cause miscarriages or serious birth defects.

Meningococcus: Meningococcal bacteria can cause infections of the brain, spinal cord and blood. It is most common in infants less than 1 year old, people living in close quarters such as dormitories or military barracks, and people who don’t have a spleen.

Pneumococcus (PCV): Pneumococcal disease can cause infections of the lungs (pneumonia), blood and brain. Children under 2 years of age, adults over 65 and people with certain medical conditions are at high risk.

Polio (IPV: inactivated poliovirus vaccine): Polio is a disease that can cause paralysis, inflammation of the brain lining or even death.

Tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough (DTaP, Tdap): Tetanus (lockjaw), diphtheria (a respiratory infection) and pertussis (whooping cough) can all be prevented with a Tdap or DTaP vaccine. Women should make sure to get a Tdap shot with each pregnancy to protect their baby from whooping cough.

Varicella zoster: Varicella zoster virus causes chickenpox, a painful, itchy rash that can lead to severe skin infection, scars, pneumonia, brain damage or death.