FDA Approves New Children’s Vaccine For Six Diseases

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has just approved a new pediatric vaccine that will immunize children — between the ages of six weeks and four years — from six different diseases, including diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, poliomyelitis, hepatitis B, and invasive disease resulting from Haemophilus influenzae type B.

Approved to be labeled as Vaxelis — because the first letter of the six diseases it protects from would be impossible to say — this new children’s vaccine was developed by Sanofi during a partnership with Merck.

“Under this license, you are authorized to manufacture the product,” the official approval letter from the FDA, dated December 21, reads.

Sanofi and Merck are currently working to make the new pediatric vaccine available in the next two or so years.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are currently 14 preventable diseases parents are urged to immunize their children against. This new vaccine will provide children with immunity from six of them.

According to Forbes, Vaxelis is a “hexavalent vaccine” because of the protection it offers against these six different diseases. The media outlet goes on to explain the appeal of a vaccine with this type of valent is a reduction in the number of shots a child needs to be protected from all preventable diseases.

Vaxelis isn’t a new vaccine, however, as it has been available to children in the European Union for three years now. It also wasn’t the first hexavalent vaccine to be introduced to the European Union.

Unsurprisingly, many parents who oppose the idea of vaccinations have taken to social media to express how they feel about the latest vaccination.

“Oh god. Someone stop these monsters. How bout we inject all the employees and the ceos children with EVERY vaccine they make because we all know there “SAFE” and “EFFECTIVE”. That would teach them,” one Twitter user exclaimed.

“Wonder how many kids will be injured by this one. FDA, the official rubber stamp of big pharma,” chimed in another.

Not everyone who took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the new vaccine had negative things to say about it. One user pointed out how beneficial it could be to combine the immunization from so many diseases into a single shot.

In addition to being appealing to children who are afraid of needles, and parents who do not like the idea of their children getting so many shots during their first few years of life, the vaccine also simplifies the role of medical staff, as it cuts back on how many vaccines need to be stored and transported.

Each of the six diseases covered by this new vaccine is currently covered by other vaccines.

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