Changes to Tdap, HPV, Hepatitis B Vaccine Recommendations Among 2012 Schedule Highlights

More than a dozen changes are reflected in the CDC's 2012 child, adolescent and adult immunization schedules. Developed in conjunction with the AAFP and other groups, several of the 2012 changes are especially pertinent to family physicians, according to the AAFP's liaison to the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, Jamie Loehr, M.D., of Ithaca, N.Y. "Some of the most important changes for family physicians in the 2012 immunization schedules involve the tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis vaccine for pregnant women and health care personnel, as well as the hepatitis B vaccine for patients with diabetes," Loehr told . Also noteworthy is the ACIP's call for the addition of quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine to the schedule for boys and young men.