What You Need to Know About the Rotavirus Vaccine

Rotavirus is a serious and potentially life threatening disease that causes severe diarrhea and is often accompanied by fever and vomiting, creating a greater risk for dehydration. Usually affecting children under five, rotavirus in the U.S. is responsible for between twenty and sixty deaths as well as hundreds of thousands of doctors and emergency room visits and hospitalizations each year.

Although there is a risk of infection year round, children usually contract the virus between November and May. Good hygiene and household sanitation have not been proven effective at reducing this risk, but there is a vaccine to help protect against rotavirus. Even though the vaccine will not protect against all strains of rotavirus, children immunized are much less likely to develop severe diarrhea or require medical attention and most children will not develop rotavirus related diarrhea at all.

Marketed under names like Rotateq, infants should be give three doses of this oral vaccine at two, four and six months of age, with the first dose being given anywhere between six and twelve weeks and the last dose given no later than thirty-two weeks old. This vaccine can not be given at any other time. Because it is not a required vaccine, you may need to ask your pediatrician for it when your infant receives his or her other immunizations.

Although this vaccine is oral and not injected, some children should not, or may need to wait to receive this vaccine. This includes but is not limited to children who are allergic to components of vaccines, any child who has already proved to be allergic to the rotavirus vaccine, ill children or those with a fever, and children who have weakened immune systems or have recently received a blood transfusion. Be sure to discuss any concerns that you may have with your health care provider prior to immunizing your child.

Like all vaccines, there is a risk of allergic reaction. The rotavirus vaccine has a very small chance of causing severe adverse reactions and is considered much safer than contracting the rotavirus disease. Moderate and severe reactions have not yet been associated with the vaccine although 1-3 percent of children given the vaccine may experience mild diarrhea or vomiting within seven days of dosage. If your child begins to exhibit any unusual behavior changes, develops a high fever, or shows signs of serious allergic reaction immediately call your doctor, your child may need to receive medical attention. Be sure to inform your doctor of any incident that occurred.

To learn more about the Rotavirus vaccine or any other immunizations ask your doctor, nurse, or health department or contact the CDC at 1-800-CDC-INFO. You can also learn more by visiting the CDCs National Immunization Program website at www.cdc.gov/nip