Paul Gibson (left), vaccine business unit manager at Smithkline Beecham, along with Judy Tapper (second left), president of the Paediatric Association of Jamaica, paediatrician Dr. Michelle Barton (second right) and Dr. Leslie Gabay of the Department of Child Health, UWI, at yesterday's symposium in downtown Kingston. - Dennis Coke PAEDIATRIC Association of Jamaica yesterday released a record 14 vaccines and guidelines on their use in an effort to help paediatricians deliver better health care to the nation's children.
The vaccines, contained in an immunisation policy guideline, were released at the immunisation update symposium at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston.
"This is the first we've got this far," said the association's president Judy Tapper.
The vaccines, which were compiled by the association's sub-committee, include BCG, Diphteria, Pertusis and Tetanus (DPT) vaccine, Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV), Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) vaccine, Hepatitis B vaccine, Haemophilus Influenzae Type B vaccine and the Varicella vaccine.
In announcing the immunisation policy guideline, Dr. Leslie Gabay, paediatrician at the Department of Child Health at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), told the symposium that although the guidelines were not binding, their usage could help practising doctors.
According to the policy guideline, the Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) vaccine should be given to children up to six weeks old and children between six and eight weeks old should get the DPT and OPV, which should be repeated when they are four and six months old. A booster is also to be given to them when they are between 15 and 18 months and four to six years.
High school students between age 11 and 13 were yesterday recommended to get the Tetanus, Diphteria and OPV. Two doses of the MMR vaccine are expected to be given to children after their first birthday. The booster should be given at entry into primary school when the child is at four to six years old.
The Hepatitis B vaccine was recommended to be included in the primary schedule (first set of immunisation vaccines a child gets after birth) and a child can first get this vaccine either at birth, one to two months old, six to 18 months, six to eight weeks or four to six months old.
The Hepatitis B vaccine can be given to a high school student or an adult at any time if he or she was not vaccinated in the first year.
The Haemophilus Type B vaccine, also included in the primary schedule, can be given at six to eight weeks, four and six months old, with a booster at 15 to 18 months.
The Varicella vaccine can be given to a year-old child. However, a single dose can be administered to children under 12 years old, and two doses can be given to children between four and eight weeks old. It can also to be applied to children above 12 years and adults.
Speaking at the symposium yesterday, Dr. Eva Lewis-Fuller, director of co-operation in health and policy analyst at the Ministry of Health, said the Haemophilus Influenzae Type B vaccine was available in private sector pharmacies, but she disclosed that the Government was trying to make it available in clinics and health centres sometime next year.
