Home Baby Help Will the New FDA-Approved Vaccine Affect Your Kids’ Vaccine Schedule? By Shahrzad WarkentinJanuary 4, 2019 Search more like this whooping-coughvaccinehepatitisofficepolioknowpediatriciandiseasecombinefearkidcovernumbercall Read next Baby Help The Best Organic Clothes for Babies & Toddlers Baby Help 45 Pumpkin Carving Designs That’ll Wow the Neighborhood Baby Help Target’s Best Holiday Deals Start Sooner Than You Think Baby Help This Larger Than Life Mister Rogers Monument is Exactly What the World Needs Baby Help Want a Free Donut on Halloween? Here’s How to Get One from Krispy Kreme If your kids’ fear of shots has you dreading the pediatricians office, you might be happy to hear about a new FDA-approved vaccine that does the job of six different vaccines in one. The FDA has just approved a new vaccine for use in the United States that covers diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (also known as whooping cough), hepatitis B, polio, and a disease caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b, also known as Hib. The vaccine, called Vaxelis, has been developed by pharmaceutical companies Sanofi and Merck. Photo: Rawpixel Vaxelis can be administered to kids as young as six weeks to four years old, in a series of three doses. All six of the diseases covered already have individual vaccines available, but this new combined vaccine will make it easier to immunize kids by minimizing the number of shots and office visits required. Before you call the pediatrician for an appointment, Vaxelis is still in production and will likely not be available in the United States until 2020, but if you happen to be planning for a baby in another year, at least one parenting checklist item will be a lot easier to check off by then. —Shahrzad Warkentin RELATED STORIES: One Third of Kids Won’t Get Their Flu Shots This Year, Survey Finds This Vaccine Could Eradicate Zika, Thanks to Promising New Research New CDC Reports Reveal the Number of Unvaccinated Kids Has Risen Substantially
