http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/wtae/20010524/lo/812265_1.html
A lot has been said about childhood vaccinations over the
years, and some of it has not been good news, WTAE-TV medical editor Marilyn Brooks
reports.
A multi-center national study is trying to determine
whether those vaccines might be a cause for worry when given to premature
infants.
The study might reveal the first conclusive evidence of
whether premature babies who receive the DPT vaccine are more at risk for breathing
and heart problems.
It’s not the content of the vaccine, Brooks reports, it’s
the shot. The American Academy of
Pediatrics recommends that the DPT and HIB vaccine be given to all 2-month-old
babies.
So far, doctors have found that the premature babies are
tolerating the vaccine very well.
In the past, several physicians have reported severe
breathing problems, low heart rates and low oxygen levels in preterm infants who
have received immunizations. That makes some pediatricians nervous about giving
the shots to tiny babies.
When these pre-term babies are vaccinated, they’re not
just watched by the nurses, they are monitored by a memory monitoring machine.
It records all the breathing, oxygen and heart-rate events before and after the
immunization. That information is then passed onto the American SIDS Institute
in Atlanta for analysis.
Researchers will study 200 premature infants at six
designated centers.
It will take a year to reach a final conclusion, but early
results suggest that the vaccines are safe for the majority of babies.
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KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED
AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO
VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU
ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.