Can 3 vaccines be given together?
Prof HPS Sachdev,
Senior Consultant Pediatrics,
Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science and Research,
New Delhi
Q: I have a 17 years old son. He weighs 72 kgs. He recovered from chicken pox at the end of last month. He had taken a course of Famciclovir and antibiotics. After about ten days, he developed an upper respiratory infection. He is OK now. I want to vaccinate him against Hepatitis A, Typhoid and MMR. He lives in a hostel. When can I get this done? Should there be some gap before vaccinating since he had chicken pox? Also, can the typhoid vaccine be given at the same time as Hepatitis A vaccine? What should be the gap between Hepatitis A and MMR? (He was vaccinated with measles vaccine at the age of 9 months but MMR was not given) What should be the dose for each of these vaccines for his age?
A:You can safely give all the three vaccines that you mentioned (Hepatitis A, Typhoid and MMR) together to your child. But this should be done at least one month after the scabs of chicken pox have fallen off. In case you do not give all the three vaccines together, then there has to be a gap of at least one month before administration of another vaccine or the protective effect of the vaccines will be impaired.