HPV, Rotavirus Join Childhood Vaccines

Oct. 25, 2006 (Atlanta) -- The new childhood vaccine schedule now includes vaccines against genital warts and a major cause of diarrhea.

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) today officially approved the 2007 childhood vaccination schedule.

The ACIP in June recommended that all girls age 11 to 12 years receive Merck's Gardasil, a vaccine against HPV or human papillomavirus. The sexually transmitted virus causes genital wartswarts and promotes cervical cancercervical cancer.

And in April, the ACIP recommended that all infants receive three doses of Merck's RotaTeq oral rotavirus vaccine at 2, 4, and 6 months of age. Rotavirus is the world's leading cause of severe intestinal illness in infants and young children.

The schedule has a new look this year. For easier reference, it's been divided into two parts. The first part, for children up to age 6 years, is intended to help pediatricians focus on the vaccines kids need to see them through kindergarten.

The second part of the schedule is intended to see kids through their teen years. There's also a two-part section on catch-up vaccines to help doctors know what to do for kids who've missed some of their shots.