As the back-to-school season approaches and we prepare to say “Goodbye” to summer, it’s a great time to get ready for the changes and challenges ahead. Starting a new school year can be exciting, but we can quickly become overwhelmed with school schedules and to-do and to-buy lists. August is an ideal opportunity to make sure that you and your kids have everything you need to keep your family healthy throughout the year.
School is a place where kids play and interact, and this is great! But being around other kids can also mean they might pick up some germs. To keep them healthy, make sure they have all their needed vaccinations. Vaccines protect kids and babies from disease at a time when they are most at risk. By following the suggested schedule for your child, you can protect them and those around them from needless health risks.
The CDC vaccine schedule is considered the best schedule for healthy children. The timing for each dose of a vaccine is based on two things:
- What age a child’s immune system provides the best defense after vaccination
- The earliest time to give protection and the age the child is at the highest risk for the disease
| Vaccine | Birth | 2 months | 4 months | 6 months | 12 months | 15 months | 18 months | 9 years | 11 years | 16 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hep B | X | X | X | |||||||
| DTaP | X | X | X | X | ||||||
| Hib | X | X | X | X | ||||||
| Polio | X | X | X | |||||||
| Pneumo | X | X | X | X | ||||||
| Rotavirus | X | X | X | |||||||
| MMR | X | |||||||||
| Varicella | X | |||||||||
| Hep A | X | X | ||||||||
| HPV | X | |||||||||
| Tdap | X | |||||||||
| Meningitis | X | X | ||||||||
| Covid | X |
Childhood vaccines are an important part of protecting your kids from deadly diseases. In New York City, all students must receive their vaccinations to attend school. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggests getting these:
| Vaccine | Doses | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Hepatitis B vaccine | 3 doses | The first dose is given at birth. This shot will protect your child from a virus causes liver damage. |
| Rotavirus vaccine | 2 or 3 doses | Helps protect from most common cause of diarrhea (loose poop) and puking in babies and young kids. Rotavirus is the leading cause or hospital admits in young infants from fluid loss. |
| DTaP and Tdap | 5 doses / 1 dose | Protects your child from diphtheria (virus that causes breathing and heart issues), tetanus (lockjaw), and pertussis (whooping cough). The DTaP shot is used until age 7. After the Tdap shot is used as a booster given at 10 and 11, then given every 10 years. |
| Hib vaccine | 3 or 4 doses | Protects against spinal meningitis (brain and spinal cord infection) and pneumonia (lung disease). |
| Pneumococcal vaccine | 4 doses | Protects from bacterial meningitis (brain and spinal cord sickness caused by bacteria), pneumonia, and blood sickness. |
| Polio vaccine | 4 doses | Protects against an easy-to-spread sickness called polio. Before the shot was made, polio made thousands of kids sick every year, leading to paralysis (when you cannot move your body) and death. |
| Influenza (flu) vaccine | Yearly | Protects you from the flu. This shot is for all people 6 months or older. If your kid is under 9, the shot is given twice, one month apart. After, the shot is given each year. |
| MMR vaccine | 2 doses | Protects you from measles, mumps, and rubella (German measles). These are easy to spread and can lead to deadly results. Measles leads to brain disease. Mumps can cause trouble having kids for men. Rubella can cause birth defects. |
| Varicella vaccine | 2 doses | Protects against chickenpox. Chickenpox may be seen as harmless but it can lead to toxic shock, skin infection, and brain swelling. |
| Hepatitis A vaccine | 2 doses | Protects against liver disease that causes fever, yellowing of the eyes and skin, and water loss. |
| Meningococcal vaccine | 2 doses | Protects against very serious bacterial diseases that affect the blood, brain, and spinal cord. |
| HPV vaccine | 2 or 3 doses | Protects from a viral disease that causes cancers of the mouth, throat, cervix, and genitals. |
| COVID-19 vaccine | Varies | Protects you from a sickness that causes lung infection, breathing failure, blood clots, and death. Young children and people with a weak immune system are at risk. |
We asked our Director of Pediatrics, Dr. Cacciola, to address the most frequently asked questions and share her expertise on the topic.
Are vaccines safe?
Yes, vaccines are very safe. Like any medicine, vaccines can cause side effects. But they tend to be very minor, such as a sore arm or mild fever, and will go away in a day or so. More serious side effects are rare. A lot of studies have been done around the world over the last 30 years showing that these vaccines are safe and not connected to diabetes, fertility problems, or autism.
Can the shots be delayed or spread out over a longer period?
It is urged not to delay your shots. Babies and young children get sick and die from the same sicknesses that vaccines can prevent, so it is vital to get their shots as soon as you can. The schedule is designed to work best with your child’s system at certain ages. There is no research that supports spreading out their shots and leaving your child not protected.
Does it overwhelm a child’s system to get more than one shots a visit?
No. Infants and children fight off germs each day by playing, eating, and breathing. Their system fights those germs and keeps their body healthy. The number of germs that kids fight each day is somewhere between 2,000 and 6,000. The number of germs on the vaccine schedule is 150. By using the schedule they can be protected without over loading their system.
Haven’t we gotten rid of most of these diseases in the United States?
Some of these diseases like whooping cough and chicken pox are still common in the US. Other diseases like Polio are no longer common. But if we stopped vaccines, the few cases that are in the US can grow very fast. While some are uncommon in the US some are common other parts of the world. Children who do not get all their shots and come in contact to the disease can become very sick and can spread it to through their close ones.
I’ve heard that vaccines can cause autism. Is this true?
No, there is not a link between vaccines and autism (a condition that affects the brain and child growth) So, how did the idea that vaccines play a role get started? Much of the blame lies with a study published in 1998 that suggested that the MMR vaccine might cause autism. Since then, many studies have shown that there is no link between vaccines and autism. The research used in that 1998 study was found to be false, the doctor who wrote it lost his license, and the medical journal that published it retracted the paper (this means that they believe it never should have been published).
I don’t want my child to take the flu shot because I’m afraid they will get the flu from it.
The flu shot can’t give you the flu. The shot has a dead version of the flu virus and cannot give you the disease. Some people will report feeling tired, achy, or feverish after getting the flu shot. This is your body’s normal response to the shot; your body is making the agents that will fight off sickness if you are in contact with the virus. This only lasts for a day or so, while flu symptoms can last for a week to 10 days.
I still have more questions about vaccines. Where can I get more info?
Your child’s provider is your best source. Book an appointment with a CHN provider right now to learn more about vaccination for your kids. Let’s work together to keep our children and communities healthy and thriving.