Fewer Shots in Store for Baby

By David Bjerklie

Childhood immunization is a victim of its own success. Thirty years ago, most children got five shots in the first two years of life; today the number is 20, with as many as five in a single visit. Ouch! The first ever five-in-one combination vaccine will take a bit of the sting out of this rite of passage. Infants can now be protected against hepatitis B and polio, along with diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough), with a single injection given at 2, 4 and 6 months, eliminating half a dozen shots in the process.

That's welcome news for crying babies. It also makes complying with immunization easier, especially as new vaccines are developed. "We are at the point where we just can't keep adding more injections," says Dr. Margaret Rennels of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The only hitch: the small minority of parents who are wary of vaccines are even warier of vaccine combos. They shouldn't be, says Dr. Joel Ward, director of UCLA's Center for Vaccine Research, which tested the new vaccine, Pediarix. "This has been in development for 10 years and meets every single standard of safety and effectiveness." --By David Bjerklie