Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) recommended immunization schedule for children aged 0 through 18 years - India, 2013 and updates on immunization

There is a need to review/revise recommendations about existing vaccines in light of recent developments in the field of vaccinology where new developments are taking place regularly at short intervals. Following an IAP ACVIP meeting on 3rd and 4th August, 2013, a draft of revised recommendations for the year 2013 and updates on certain new vaccine formulations was prepared and circulated among the meeting participants to arrive at a consensus. To review and revise recommendations for 2013 Immunization timetable for pediatricians in office practice and issue statements on new vaccine formulations. The major change in the 2013 Immunization timetable was made in the recommendations pertaining to pertussis immunization. Taking in to the consideration of recent outbreaks of pertussis in many industrialized countries using acellular pertussis (aP) vaccines and subsequent finding of faster waning of the same in comparison to whole-cell pertussis (wP) vaccines and superior priming with wP vaccines than aP vaccines, the committee has now recommended wP vaccines for the primary series of infant vaccination. Guidelines are now also issued on the preference/selection of a particular aP vaccine in case it is not feasible to use wP vaccine, and use of Tdap vaccine during pregnancy. The administration schedule of monovalent human rotavirus vaccine, RV1 has been revised to 10 and 14 weeks from existing 6 and 10 weeks. Recommendation is made for the need of booster dose of live attenuated SA-14-14-2 JE vaccine. Updates and recommendations are issued on new typhoid conjugate vaccine, inactivated vero-cell culture derived SA-14-14-2 JE vaccine, inactivated vero-cell derived Kolar strain, 821564XY JE vaccine, and new meningococcal conjugate vaccines. This year the recommended immunization schedule with range for persons aged 0 through 18 years is being published together instead of two separate schedules. A subcategory of 'general instruction' is added in footnotes. The comments and footnotes for several vaccines are revised and separate instructions for 'routine vaccination' and 'catch-up vaccination' are added in the footnotes section wherever applicable.