2.5 year old non vaxed ... want to do dtap

[lovermont]

We've avoided vaxes up to this point but given life changes that will happen in the next year we are thinking of doing Dtap and possibly polio for our 2.5 year old.
What is the recommended spacing? I see on the cdc website that it's two months and there are FOUR doses! That seems excessive. Are all four necessary?
And then for our 4.5 year old who was vaxed on schedule up to 12mos - should he get that last dose of dtap?

Sorry for the rush of questions. I'm realizing that we're going to be leaving the area (and our trusted MD) and I'm not confident we will find a comparable replacement in our new location. Therefore I'd like to have vax issues somewhat settled before we move - and if multiple doses of dtap are necessary then we need to get the ball rolling.
TIA.

[heathergirl67]

Originally Posted by lovermont

We've avoided vaxes up to this point but given life changes that will happen in the next year we are thinking of doing Dtap and possibly polio for our 2.5 year old.
What is the recommended spacing? I see on the cdc website that it's two months and there are FOUR doses! That seems excessive. Are all four necessary?
And then for our 4.5 year old who was vaxed on schedule up to 12mos - should he get that last dose of dtap?

Sorry for the rush of questions. I'm realizing that we're going to be leaving the area (and our trusted MD) and I'm not confident we will find a comparable replacement in our new location. Therefore I'd like to have vax issues somewhat settled before we move - and if multiple doses of dtap are necessary then we need to get the ball rolling.
TIA.

What did your doctor advise?

[raelize]

i would ask your doctor. after 1 or 2 rounds you can always ask to do a titer to see what the antibodies levels are in dc's blood. i don't know if it will work if you are waiting a few months between the shots, but it is a way to avoid lots of shots if you want to do that. i would probably titer the 4.5 y.o.blood.

[13Sandals]

the titer issue depends on state laws...in NY they will accept titer levels for measles, hep b, mumps, rubella and chicken pox, but not for diptheria, tetanus or pertussis. And the DTaP schedule is a little convoluted - for NY anyway. NY State only requires 3 doses of DTaP but NYC requires 4 doses for preschool or K. The CDC recommends 5 - alarming isn't it! 5 doses by age 5 and then another booster for 6th grade! Anyway - check your state school entry requirements, usually found on the state health dept sites and read all the little asterisks!

[nia82]

But if you vaccinate off the books like we will do, you can do the titers to see if you even need more doses. That's what we are planning on doing. Most people don't need 4 or 5 shots, many have titers well before that. E.g. MMR is now recommended 3 times by school age back home, yet all I had was a measles shot when I was 13 months old and still had titers at age 24; on the other hand, I never developed titers after the chickenpox vaccine and only low titers for a year after HepB (technically I would have to revaccinate every other year, no thanks). People are so different and since we do our own thing, we can take this into account.