The Vaccine Advisory Committee of the Spanish Association of Pediatrics annually updates the immunisation schedule, taking into account epidemiological data, as well as evidence of the effectiveness and efficiency of vaccines.
The vaccination schedule includes grades of recommendation. The Committee grades as universal vaccines those that all children should receive, as recommended those with a profile of universal vaccination in childhood and which all children should receive but that may be prioritized according to public funding resources, and for risk groups those targeting groups of people at epidemiological risk. The Committee considers the priority objective to be a common immunisation schedule.
The Committee reaffirms the recommendation of including pneumococcal vaccination in the routine vaccination schedule. Varicella vaccination in the second year of life is an effective strategy and therefore a desirable goal. Rotavirus vaccination is recommended for all infants, given its morbidity and large burden for the health care system.
The Committee adheres to the recommendations of the Interterritorial Council of the National Health Care System with respect to routine HPV vaccination for all girls aged 11 to 14 years and stresses the need for influenza and hepatitis A vaccination of all patients with risk factors for these diseases. Finally, it stresses the need to update incomplete immunisation using catch-up programs.