Vaccination Guidelines 2025

There is no need to blindly follow the trend and vaccinate all newly launched categories, nor do you need to refuse all non-mandatory vaccines due to choking. The most cost-effective and safest solution is to "stratify according to one's own infection risk and give priority to mature categories with high protection benefits."

I am in my 6th year of vaccination education at the grassroots level. In the past half month, almost every day, I have encountered residents who come to ask questions with a stack of leaflets - either a mother who has just given birth is struggling with whether to give her child the new quadrivalent conjugated meningococcal vaccine, or recently retired uncles and aunts who can’t figure out which vaccine should be given first, shingles or pneumonia. There are also many young people asking whether the "customized vaccine" that is popular on the Internet is reliable.

In the past two years, people's attitudes towards vaccines have been quite polarized. One group is the "Vaccine Universalist Party", which insists on taking newly approved vaccines as soon as possible regardless of whether they are necessary. The other group is the "Vaccine Exclusion Party". Except for a certain type of vaccine that children must take when going to school, all the rest are regarded as IQ taxes. Both of these ideas are a bit extreme to be honest. Last month, there was a 28-year-old Internet operator in our jurisdiction. He saved up half a year's leave to take the so-called "overseas anti-cancer multi-component vaccine". After returning, he had a fever for three days. Later we checked that the so-called multi-component vaccine had not been approved in China at all. The core protection effect was about the same as that of the conventional HPV vaccination in China. It cost more than 20,000 yuan and suffered a lot. There is also a 70-year-old Uncle Wang who refused to listen to anyone who told him to get the flu vaccine. He contracted influenza and pneumonia last winter and was hospitalized for 18 days. After being discharged from the hospital, the first thing he did was go to the community to get vaccinated for both pneumonia and herpes zoster. He said that if he had known that he was going to suffer from this, it would be better to get it earlier.

In fact, the reason why the 2025 guidelines have adjusted the previous recommendation priorities is to put "cost-effectiveness" first. To put it bluntly, you must first figure out which disease you are at the highest risk of contracting and which vaccine has the greatest benefit. For example, if there are children at home who have just entered day care or kindergarten, they get together every day to play around. Booster shots for hand, foot and mouth, quadrivalent influenza, and chickenpox are definitely at the top of the list. The newly approved quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine in 2025 can also be given priority if the family has a sufficient budget. It protects against two more subtypes than the previous meningococcal vaccine, and requires two less injections. The children will suffer less and parents will save time. Oh, by the way, I would like to say one more thing here. Nowadays, many parents are confused about whether meningococcal meningitis is free or self-pay. In fact, the free A+C group meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine can already cover most high-risk subtypes. If you have a limited budget, the free one is completely sufficient. There is no need to bite the bullet and choose the expensive one. This is also recognized by two views in the academic circles - there is no need to impose a budget for less than 10% of the extra protection.

As for adults, women aged 25 to 45 should give priority to the HPV vaccine. Now that the supply has fully kept up with the nine-price age expansion, there is no need to rush for numbers and wait in the lottery like in the previous two years. There is also a controversial point here. Many people say that if you buy the second price, you don’t need to buy the ninth price. Some people say that the ninth price has a wide range of protection and you must buy the ninth price. In fact, both opinions are correct - if you have already completed the second price, there is really no need to pay the ninth price. The second price already covers the two most dangerous subtypes 16 and 18, which can prevent more than 90% of cervical cancer. ； If you haven’t started the treatment yet, it’s no problem to choose the nine-price treatment if you have enough budget. The additional subtypes you can prevent can also reduce the risk of genital warts. Just choose according to your own situation, and you don’t have to listen to other people’s nonsense. For office workers who often stay up late and have low immunity, it is also recommended to arrange for the annual flu vaccine. I take it every October. Last year, half of the people in the office had a fever and took leave. I had nothing to do, so it was quite useful.

If you have an elderly person over 60 years old at home, take my advice and get the three vaccines for shingles, influenza, and 23-valent pneumonia first. They are more effective than any other health care product. My mother got the shingles vaccine early last year. This spring, four or five of her aunts in the square dance team got herpes zoster. The pain was so painful that she couldn't even lift her arms. My mother danced happily every day, and now everyone she meets says the vaccine was worth it. I would also like to mention here that many elderly people are worried that the injection will have serious side effects. In fact, we have calculated that the incidence rate of serious adverse reactions of these three vaccines is less than 0.3 per million, which is lower than the probability of being hit by a high-altitude object when you go out to buy groceries. At most, the vaccination site will hurt for a day or two, or you may have a slight fever. Just drink more water and you will be fine. There is no need to worry.

Finally, I would like to remind everyone that 99% of the "anti-aging vaccines", "anti-cancer universal vaccines" and "customized allergy vaccines" that are popular on the Internet are IQ taxes. Regular vaccines can only be vaccinated at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, community health service centers and qualified regular hospitals. Don't trust the representatives in your circle of friends. Don't trust the "overseas special vaccines" from private institutions. Last year, we treated a girl who bought the vaccine through an agent for a so-called nine-price vaccine. After the injection, her arm swelled for almost a month. When she went for a test, she found out that the vaccine injected was normal saline. She spent tens of thousands of dollars, and it also delayed the normal vaccination time.

In fact, there has never been a "standard answer" to vaccines. Just like when you buy shoes, the ones that fit your feet are the best. If you are really not sure what vaccination you should take, it is much more reliable to go directly to the community health service center near your home and ask the vaccination doctor than to search online for a long time and get more and more panicked, right?