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Pediatric immunization changed rapidly in 1996: existing vaccines were improved, new vaccines were developed, and vaccination schedules were revised so much that we almost needed score cards to keep up with them.
In January, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and the American Academies of Pediatrics and Family Practice called for routine varicella vaccination for infants aged 12 to 18 months and for susceptible older children, and added the hepatitis B series for 11- and 12-year-olds who have not already received three doses (MMWR Jan 5; 44:940).
Last summer, the ACIP recommended that DTaP -- acellular pertussis vaccine combined with diphtheria and tetanus toxoids -- replace the whole-cell DTP vaccine for the first four d…