Dear doctor, my child received two doses of Synflorix pneumococcal vaccine and 6 in 1 and still breastfeeds, sleeps well, has no fever, is the vaccine ineffective? (Ngoc Mai, Yen Bai)
Reply:
Reactions after vaccination are quite diverse, depending on the condition, each child will have a different fever expression. In which, most of the children had a mild febrile reaction, some had no fever and a few had a high fever.
Fever after vaccination is a signal that the immune system recognizes the foreign agent and reacts. As for people with no fever, it does not mean that the immune system does not "fight", but it fights in a more gentle way, but the final destination still ensures the effectiveness of the vaccine.
Therefore, parents should not be too worried because the child's fever or no fever after vaccination does not determine the effectiveness of the vaccine.
Children without fever after vaccination still ensure vaccine effectiveness. Image: CDC
In case the child has a mild fever (under 38 degrees), parents should not give fever-reducing drugs but continue to monitor the child's temperature and general condition. If the child's temperature is between 38-38,4 degrees, fever-reducing medication may be considered if the child is irritable, fussy, or has a history of febrile seizures.
A small number of children have a high fever reaction after injection (38,5 degrees or more), parents should give children paracetamol to reduce fever at a dose of 10-15mg/kg body weight. The maximum total dose should not exceed 100mg/kg body weight in 24 hours, each time taken 4-6 hours apart, not more than 6 times a day or as directed by a doctor.
Encourage the child to cool down and dress the child in breathable clothing, encourage the child to play to reduce the fever naturally and not to use too much medicine.
For cases where the child takes 2-3 doses of fever-reducing medicine but does not cool down, it is possible that the child has other diseases other than just a fever after vaccination, parents need to take the child to a pediatric specialist medical facility for treatment. promptly examined and treated by a physician.
The child should be taken to the nearest medical facility immediately if the following signs are present:
- Fever over 39 degrees
- Unresponsive to antipyretic drugs (one hour of medication does not reduce)
– Convulsions or fatigue, call and ask no response
- Cyanosis, difficulty breathing
- Crying and crying for more than 3 hours
– Poor feeding, rash and common reactions lasting more than a day
Abscess, swelling and pain at the injection site.
Dr. Le Thi Truc Phuong
VNVC . vaccination system
