New Vaccine for US Infants

The FDA has just approved a new vaccine, Pentacel, for the immunization of infants. As stated here at Pharmalot, it provides immunization for these five diseases: Haemophilus influenza type b (HIb), diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whopping cough) and poliomyelitis. The doses are given to infants at 2, 4, 6, and 15 to 18 months. This single shot four times can reduce as many as 23 injections otherwise needed for the immunization of infants.

According to this article here at HealthNews, the vaccine was approved after 5,000 infants in Canada and the United States showed that the vaccine was safe and effective against those diseases. This immunization has been used in Canada since 1997, and immunizations in the United States will begin this summer.