11:58 AM PST on Sunday, February 22, 2004

By JEAN ENERSEN / KING 5 News

Keeping track of children's immunizations can be a challenge. Today, the mandatory vaccines cover 10 diseases with multiple shots and that number may double over the next decade.

"Well, the good and bad news is now we have a lot more vaccines that prevent bad sicknesses. The down side is that most of these are still given in single injections and unfortunately this means that a healthy boy or girl may wind up getting close to 20 shots by their second birthday," said Dr. Mark Weissman.

Researchers are now working on a number of super vaccines that would combine several existing inoculations into one.

The most recent super vaccine takes the MMR vaccine, which covers mumps, measles and rubella and combines it with chickenpox, polio, whooping cough, tetanus, diphtheria, hepatitis B and meningitis.

But that still leaves children unprotected from other diseases like strep and pneumonia, so scientists are hoping to develop even more super vaccines.

"There are vaccines that have just been released or that are in the pipeline that we'll see over the next year or two, that can give kids full protection with less shots," said Dr. Weismann.

Some pediatricians are already offering super vaccines. But they're expensive, costing hundreds of dollars, but for those who can afford them, there are advantages.

"Any opportunity to combine more of the immunizations into a one delivery method improves the ability to get 'em in, and makes it a less painful or scary experience for those children," said Dr. William Lawrence.

Not all doctors are in favor of this approach. They worry that super vaccines could overload a child's developing immune system.

Super vaccines are not just aimed at children. There is also one now being developed to combat every conceivable strain of the flu.