American Academy of Pediatrics  Eczema

American Academy of Pediatrics statement on eczema and vaccination

In 1958 the American Academy of Pediatrics made the following statement:

1) No child with atopic eczema or other skin disorder should be vaccinated.

2) No child should be vaccinated if any member of his family has eczema or other skin disorder.

3) Parents of children with eczema should be notified at the onset of the disease of the danger from vaccination contact.

4) If a sibling of a child with atopic eczema is vaccinated, he must be completely separated from that child for at least 21 days.

5) Forms used by state and local health departments for parents' consent to vaccination should include an appropriate warning of the contraindications.

6) Eczema vaccinatum should be a reportable disease.

7) Patients recently vaccinated must be excluded from pediatric wards containing patients with atopic eczema, other diseases of the skin, burns or healing surgical incisions.

8) Vaccination may be recommended at 2 months of age, especially for babies from strongly allergic families.

Received December 18, 1957.

Accepted February 18, 1958.

Copyright © 1958 by the American Academy of Pediatrics