Simultaneous Vaccinations Don’t Overwhelm Immune Systems, Experts Say
Berlin – Concerns about overloading the immune system with multiple vaccinations are unfounded, according to health experts. While children today receive immunizations against more diseases than in the past, modern vaccines deliver fewer pathogen components to trigger an immune response, and the body is well-equipped to handle simultaneous administration in many cases.
Today’s vaccine preparations are highly purified, typically containing only individual parts of the pathogen, unlike earlier versions. “Certain infections can led to a significantly more severe course of the disease in infants and small children than in older children, such as as the airways in infants are still very narrow or because their still-developing immune system cannot effectively fight off certain infections,” the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) writes. “Vaccinations at the recommended vaccination time protect infants and young children from infections and possible serious consequences.” They are also generally well-tolerated even in infancy.
However,simultaneous immunization isn’t universally recommended. Such as, with the live vaccine Ixchiq (Valneva), approved in Germany against chikungunya fever, concurrent immunization against other diseases is not advised due to limited data. This data is available in the product’s specialist information or package insert.
Despite these exceptions,multiple vaccinations are common practice in certain fields,such as tropical medicine,where travelers require rapid protection before journeys. “Travel doctors know how to give many vaccinations at once,” says physician Andreas Watzl.
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