Vaccination Guidelines 2nd Edition

There is no longer a unified requirement for the entire population to receive booster shots without distinction. Instead, recommendations are made in stages based on age, underlying diseases, and immunity levels. At the same time, for the first time, the priority ranking of commonly used non-immunization program vaccines for adults such as herpes zoster and HPV has been included. Ordinary people no longer need to worry about "I will take it if others take it" when getting the vaccine. It is enough to compare the corresponding reference with their own situation.

To be honest, when the first version of the guideline was released, it was actually quite difficult for our grassroots vaccination sites. Many strong boys and girls came over and asked, "I only go on a business trip once every six months and I don't have any underlying diseases. Do I have to get a booster shot?" At that time, it could only be interpreted according to unified requirements, but now the second edition is much more flexible. As for the COVID-19 vaccine, the current mainstream recommendation of the public health system is that people over 65 years old, people with serious underlying diseases, and people with immune deficiencies should give priority to vaccination with the latest strain coverage vaccine as long as it has been more than 6 months since the last vaccination or infection. ； However, many clinical respiratory doctors have expressed different opinions, saying that if the peak of the epidemic has just passed and no one around is infected, even high-risk groups can wait and there is no need to rush to get vaccinated. Both opinions are supported by data, and everyone can choose based on their current living environment. Last month I met an Aunt Zhang who has COPD. She was positive twice last winter and stayed in the hospital for a week. She was chasing the new XBB strain vaccine. When I asked her, we found out that it was only a month and a half after she became positive. We suggested that she wait for another two months. She just came here recently to get vaccinated and said she felt much more at ease.

In addition to the adjustments to the COVID-19 vaccine that everyone is most concerned about, in fact, what is more valuable in this guide is the adult non-immunization program vaccine that no one paid much attention to before. Many people have lived for 20 or 30 years and have no idea what vaccines they need to take except being dragged by their work units to get COVID-19 shots. Take the HPV vaccine as an example. There was a lot of quarrel on the Internet before, saying that it must be 9-price to be effective. Many young girls have been waiting for 9-price for three or four years, and even if they are over-age, they are not in line. This time the guide clearly states: give priority to those who can get an appointment, and do not have to wait for a high price. Of course, there are different voices. Many obstetricians and gynecologists will suggest that girls under 25 years old who have not yet had sexual intercourse can wait if they can be ranked at price 9. After all, it covers more subtypes, but the statistics from the public health side are here: the bivalent vaccine has covered the two highest risk subtypes that cause cervical cancer, 16 and 18, and can prevent more than 70% of cervical cancer. The earlier you take it, the sooner you will be protected. There is really no need to waste it. Last week, a 23-year-old girl came over and said that she had been waiting for the price of 9 for two years, but she hadn’t gotten there yet, and she was about to have a boyfriend. She was anxious, so she made an appointment with the price of 2 that day, and she left happily.

Oh, yes, there are still many parents asking about adjustments to children's vaccines. The second version has also been updated this time. For example, the hand, foot and mouth vaccine was only recommended for children under 5 years old before. Now, those over 6 years old who have just entered elementary school and have not been vaccinated before are also listed as recommended groups. After all, hand, foot and mouth are common in elementary schools, and many first-grade children are also infected. They are so painful that they can't eat, and parents also suffer. There is also the issue of vaccine allergy that everyone was afraid of before. This time the standards have been relaxed. Previously, it was said that people who are allergic to eggs cannot get the flu vaccine. Now only people with severe anaphylactic shock need to be evaluated in advance. Normally, eating eggs will only cause a small red rash and a little itchiness, and they can be vaccinated normally. Last week, we had a junior high school student who was mildly allergic to eggs come to get a flu shot. After the injection, he stayed for half an hour and stayed for half an hour. Nothing happened, and he went to school happily.

As for the most controversial shingles vaccine, there is no unified conclusion yet. One group says that only people over 50 years old need to get it. The probability of young people getting shingles is low, and even if they do get it, the symptoms will be mild. It is not necessary to spend more than 1,000 yuan to get two shots.； The other group says that young people stay up late every day and are under great pressure, and there are more and more cases of immune disorders. There are a lot of people in their 20s suffering from shingles in the outpatient clinic. The pain makes them unable to sleep, and there may be sequelae of neuralgia. If you can get the treatment, you won't suffer. I just got vaccinated last year. I am not in a high-risk group. I just saw my cousin get herpes zoster before, and he had a circle of blisters on his waist. It hurt for almost two months. I was afraid of the pain, so I just got vaccinated. This really depends on individual needs, and there is no standard answer.

In fact, the core logic of this guide is to give everyone the right to choose. Whatever your situation is and how much risk you are willing to take, just choose accordingly. You don’t have to listen to the messy anxiety mongering on the Internet. If you are unsure, go to the community vaccination site near your home and ask. It is much more useful than watching three hours of short videos. Oh, by the way, one last thing to mention, the protection rate of all vaccines is not 100%. For example, the protection rate of influenza vaccine is about 60%, but it can reduce the risk of severe disease by 80%. Don’t think it’s useless if you still get sick after taking it. You will know the difference when you actually get infected.