A 15-month-old child receives varicella vaccine today. The mother will bring him back in 2 weeks for a travel clinic visit where yellow fever vaccine is planned. What is the correct guidance regarding spacing of these two live parenteral vaccines?
- A No spacing needed; live vaccines can be given at any interval apart
- B Separate the doses by at least 2 weeks to avoid additive reactogenicity
- C Give both on the same day or separate them by at least 4 weeks ✓
- D Yellow fever vaccine must be deferred for 3 months after any other live vaccine
Correct answer: C. Give both on the same day or separate them by at least 4 weeks
Explanation
Two or more live parenteral vaccines should ideally be administered on the same day; if not given the same day, they must be separated by at least 4 weeks. Giving one live vaccine shortly before another can impair replication of and the immune response to the second vaccine, risking failure. Inactivated vaccines carry no such restriction, and there is no basis for deferring yellow fever by months; only a 4-week gap is required here.
Reference: Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics, 21st ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.