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.
BIRTH
HEPB
(1st of 3)
© JPC-PROD / SHUTTERSTOCK
1 MO.
HEPB
(2nd of 3)
2 MOS. 4 MOS. 6 MOS.
12–15
MOS.
15–18
MOS.
4–6
YRS.
11–12
YRS.
16–18
YRS.
DTaP
(1st of 5)
PCV (1st of 4)
IPV (1st of 4)
DTaP (3rd of 5)
HEPB (3rd of 3)
PCV (3rd of 4)
IPV (3rd of 4)
INFLUENZA
DTaP
(2nd of 5)
PCV(2nd of 4)
IPV (2nd of 4)
PCV (4th of 4)
MMR (1st of 2)
VARICELLA
(1st of 2)
HEPA (1st of 2),
2nd ( 6 to 18
mos. later)
DTaP (4th of 5) DTaP (5th of 5)
IPV (4th of 4)
MMR (2nd of 2)
VARICELLA
(2nd of 2)
MENINGOCOCCAL A
(1st of 2)
Tdap ( 1 dose)
HPV ( 3 doses)
MENINGOCOCCAL A
(2nd of 2)
MENINGOCOCCAL B
( 2 OR 3 doses)
Vaccination schedule
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